


Lucky

by uwuyoongs



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: 99 line and younger are children, Aged-Up Character(s), De-Aged Characters, Everyone Is Gay, Falling In Love, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Happy Ending, Honeymoon, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Sex, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun is Whipped, Kid Fic, M/M, Meet the Family, Meet-Cute, Minor Character Death, Non Graphic Death, Not Beta Read, Side yuwin, Single Parent Lee Taeyong, Single Parents, Suh Youngho | Johnny is a Good Friend, Tired Lee Taeyong, Vacation, Wedding Fluff, Weddings, cute family moments, death isn't an nct member, everything is okay though, i know nothing about kids and google was my only reference, ill add more tags later, it's briefly mentioned, jaehyun is bad at flirting, jaeyong wedding, johnny is a rich and hot dad, mild homophobia from a side character, not spoken out loud but they get weird looks, side johnten, single dad club, taeyong drives a mom van, taeyong has 6 kids, taeyong needs to get laid, taeyong runs a single dad blog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 36,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28535538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uwuyoongs/pseuds/uwuyoongs
Summary: Lee Taeyong has 6 kids, all under the age of 6, and he's been raising them on his own for the last 3 years. He's not completely without help, as he has a small squad of other single dad friends, but every day is it's own battle. He's doing all of this alone, and sometimes he misses having someone to hold who isn't a squirming child. He misses the feeling of being in love.But then he meets Jaehyun, a cute, young, flirty guy with purple hair and horrible pick-up lines. And Taeyong can't help but fall for him after only one meeting and a few cute texts.With a lot of encouragement from his friends, Taeyong agrees to going out with Jaehyun, but he's still a bit nervous. Should he tell Jaehyun about his kids? How would he even begin that conversation... And how would his kids handle the thought of him dating? With so many unknowns, Taeyong just has to leave it all up to fate.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong
Comments: 26
Kudos: 212





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my new NCT fic! I wrote this before Sungchan and Shotaro were announced as new members, and I thought I got everybody else, but Taeil was accidentally left out. I will try to edit some of the later chapters as I post to include everyone, but I apologize if I can't.
> 
> For reference, here is a list of the dad squad and who each of their kids are:  
> Taeyong - Renjun, Donghyuck, Jeno, Jaemin, Chenle, Jisung  
> Johnny - Mark, Lucas  
> Kun - Xiaojun, Hendery  
> Ten - Yangyang
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Don't hesitate to comment! <3

Taeyong wakes up to the sound of crying coming from down the hall. He sighs, throwing the blanket off himself and trudging down the hall to the twin’s room.

“It’s okay, Lele, come here.” He picks up the 4-year-old and cradles him in his arms. “It’s okay baby.” He quiets down, but not before the sound of more little feet makes Taeyong sigh even louder. Some days, being a single parent is hard.

“Daddy, why is Lele crying?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong?”

“Don’t worry about Lele. Are you two going to be able to go back to sleep, or is it just an early day?” Taeyong looks at the two boys. They’re each hugging their favorite little stuffed animals.

“Can’t sleep.” 

“Okay JenJen, Nana, let’s go downstairs and cuddle on the couch until your brothers wake up.” Chenle had calmed down and fallen back asleep in Taeyong’s arms, so before following the other boys downstairs, he tucks him back into bed.

Downstairs, Taeyong is able to use a cartoon to lull Jaemin and Jeno back to sleep. He even gets a few extra minutes of sleep himself.

He wakes up again when Renjun climbs onto his lap. “Daddy, It’s breakfast time.” The movement wakes up Jeno and Jaemin, too.

Taeyong stretches and follows his boys into the kitchen. It’s earlier than they usually wake up, only around 6 am. The three boys climb up onto the kitchen chairs and wait for Taeyong to get their food. 

Thinking ahead, Taeyong pours the cereal for the missing three boys and will add the milk when they wake up. The two young ones and Donghyuck are always the ones sleeping in later. As they eat, Taeyong prepares all their lunch boxes. He likes making sure the boys eat enough food that’s good for them, so he tries to make it fun. Recently, they’ve really been liking the cute bento boxes Taeyong puts together.

After all six boys have had their cereal, they race each other up the stairs to get dressed for school. It didn’t take them very long to wake up and gain their energy.

The older four can usually pick out decent clothes for themselves, but Chenle and Jisung still need help sometimes. Taeyong will pick out their clothes, but Chenle likes to do it himself. Jisung, however, enjoys being babied and will whine for help getting dressed.

By 8:45, Taeyong has them all loaded into the van. His other single dad friends all made fun of him the first time they saw it, calling it a mom van, but he didn’t have a choice since he does have 6 kids. And no matter what they say, he likes the light blue color.

He gets them to school on time; all the boys have their own little backpacks filled with their lunch boxes and work books. Renjun, Jeno, Donghyuck, and Jaemin are all in kindergarten while Chenle and Jisung are in preschool. Everything is in the same building right now. Taeyong is glad. He doesn’t have to drive all around the city in the morning to get everyone there on time.

“Hi Taeyong. How are the boys this morning?” The preschool teacher, Doyoung, holds the door open for the mess of boys running inside.

“Hey. It’s been a long morning already. I need some coffee.”

“Were they up early again?”

“Yeah, Lele woke up crying and that woke the other boys up.”

Another voice joins the conversation, “Oh, that does sound like a rough morning.”

“Shut up Johnny, your kids aren’t perfect either. Didn’t Mark bite Lucas last week?”

“Low blow, Yong.” Johnny has a kid on each arm. Mark and Lucas are twins, and they’re a year older than Taeyong’s quadruplets. “Go inside boys, I’ll be in in a few minutes.”

“The biting is a problem, Johnny. A kid his age shouldn’t have that behavior.” The boy’s kindergarten teacher has joined the small gathering at the front door.

“Hey Jungwoo. Who’s that new guy in the hallway? Is he a new dad? New teacher?”

Jungwoo laughs. “That’s Sicheng. He’s a new teacher’s assistant. He’ll travel between the classrooms and help out wherever needed. He’s very nice, but a little shy.”

The dad gathering ends when they have to get the kids signed in. Taeyong writes down all their names and his own, and then he heads back to the parking lot.

Johnny stops him outside. “Are you free tonight? I want to make those playdate dinners a regular thing. You, Ten, Kun, my house, 5 o’clock?”

“Sounds good. Are you actually going to work today? You have a suit on.” Johnny is a big time CEO. He has so many people working under him that he doesn’t have to go to work unless he wants to or if there’s an emergency. He can do a lot of his work remotely. 

Taeyong is in a similar boat. He runs a successful daddy blog. He started it for fun while he was looking for work. The boys were about to be old enough to start preschool, so he would have had time to get a job. But, he had started blogging about the struggles he faced as a single dad with 6 little boys, and somehow, it gained a lot of popularity. Brands send him free stuff to review, or they’ll sponsor posts, or ask for ads on Taeyong’s blogsite. He never expected to make a living off of it, but it’s made his life a lot easier. He makes his own hours, which helps him have time for the boys. 

“Yes, I have a big meeting today. You know, gotta make that money.” Taeyong rolls his eyes.

“Okay, have fun with that. I’m going to the cafe for a little bit. I need to get some coffee in me.”

Taeyong hops into his van. The cafe is only a few blocks away. At this point, he should have his own parking spot out front. 

Sometimes he likes to bring his laptop to the cafe to start writing his blog posts. He orders his regular latte. If he’s here longer, he’ll get another non-coffee drink.

He stays for a few hours. He likes the calming sounds of no kids screaming at each other.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a grown man order a pink drink.” Taeyong didn’t realize the stranger is talking to him. 

He looks up from his laptop. “I didn’t want to have 2 coffees so early in the morning.”

“I see. Do you come here often? I feel like I would have noticed you.” Taeyong enjoys being flirted with, especially with such cheesy lines.

“There’s a flaw in your boldness. I’m here every day at the same time, so either you didn’t notice me, or it’s your first time here.” He can’t help but giggle when the stranger’s ears turn pink.

“Oh, that was stupid. Even after me embarrassing myself, would you mind if I sit with you?”

“Go ahead.” Taeyong glances at the stranger. He’s cute. He definitely is younger. His skin is perfect, not a wrinkle in sight. And his hair is dyed a soft silvery purple.

“You like my hair?”

“Just wondering what type of job you have that lets you keep your hair so fun. Most places aren’t that progressive yet.”

The stranger laughs. “I work in a library right now.”

“Right now?”

“You see, I just finished getting my masters degree in psychology, but I haven’t been able to find a permanent job yet, so while I look, I’m just a librarian.” Taeyong is impressed by this stranger.

“Since you studied psychology, shouldn’t you know that people are more comfortable when they know the name of the person they’re talking to?”

“Oh shit, right. I’m Jaehyun. Jung Jaehyun. What about you Mr. Pink Drink?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you. I’m liking that nickname.”

“Pretty please?” Taeyong swoons. Jaehyun’s pout just reminds him of his kids.

“Lee Taeyong.”

“It is nice to meet you Lee Taeyong. How old are you? You don’t seem to be rushing to work like everyone else.”

“I work from home.” Taeyong motions to his laptop. “And I’m 28.”

“An older man,”Jaehyun wiggles his eyebrows, teasingly. “I’m 24 years young.”

Taeyong takes a minute to think about this new guy. He’s got such a zest for life. It’s not often Taeyong is flirted with, and usually when it does happen, it’s coming from the single moms at the school. Jaehyun also isn’t as pushy as those women. 

“Before I awkwardly embarrass myself again, can I ask if you’re single?” The question catches him off guard.

“Uhhh, yeah, I guess I am.”

“You guess? I don’t understand.”

“It’s been awhile since I’ve done this.” Taeyong hesitates and he catches Jaehyun staring at his hands. He looks down to see that he is subconsciously toying with the finger his wedding ring used to sit.

“Were you married?”

That snaps Taeyong back to the present. “Yeah, but that’s not a story for right now. It’s been a few years, but have you ever been in a long relationship and when it ends, you just feel like you don’t know what you’re doing anymore? You don’t know how long to wait to move on, or if moving on is okay...Oh god, I’m ranting, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, Taeyong. It’s okay. I do get it. It can be hard to start all over again. You never know when you’re ready.” The words are comforting.

Taeyong takes a deep breath, and he takes a chance. “I’m going to give you my number. I have to get home so I can finish my work for the day, but text me sometime. I would like to get to know you, Jung Jaehyun.” Taeyong scribbles his phone number onto a scrap piece of paper and hands it over to Jaehyun. 

When he gets to his van, he starts freaking out. He just flirted with a guy. He just gave a cute guy his phone number. What has he become?

He gets home and goes right to his office. He didn’t get a lot done at the coffee shop. Once he sits down to start writing, he can’t help but mention what happened.

Taeyong’s blog is quite popular among all different types of people. He gets a lot of messages from people who lost a spouse and they tell him that reading his blog helped them get through the rough period while still trying to be a good parent. Some other messages are parents struggling through divorces, and some are just new parents who have no idea what they’re doing. Taeyong finds comfort in the fact that he can help people.

_5/22/20 - A New Experience  
Today started pretty normally. Lele woke up crying and woke some of the others up. After some cuddles on the couch, I made them all breakfast, packed their lunches, and dropped them all off at school. I headed to my local Starbucks like I do every morning. Today was different though.  
Someone came up and was flirting with me. We talked for a little bit and they asked if I was single. I panicked, but ultimately said I was, and then before I left, I gave the person my number. They’re younger than me and they had the same bubbly personality my little boys do. I was endeared, so maybe that’s what led me to flirt back. This is new for me though. It’s been just me and my boys for the last 3+ years. I haven’t tried dating since I lost their mom. I didn’t know if I ever would be ready to date or see anyone else. I was always just content being a single dad.  
But when this person came up to me and I saw their smile, I don’t know what came over me. I felt like I was floating. It felt nice to feel wanted like that again. I hope they text me sometime. I don’t know where this will go, but I guess it doesn’t hurt to find out.  
-Taeyong_

He adds some pictures he took today: Jeno and Jaemin sleeping on him, the lunch boxes he made for the boys, and his coffee at Starbucks. Almost immediately after posting it, Taeyong is getting comments from people who went through similar things.

“This happened to me. After my husband and I separated, I didn’t think I’d ever want to get remarried, but when I found the right guy, I knew it almost immediately and my kids love him too! I wish you luck!”

“I hope whoever this person is likes kids haha! This one person I dated after my divorce didn’t know I had kids and they got really freaked out upon finding out. It’s all good now.”

Taeyong likes reading people’s comments. It makes him feel a lot less alone when he goes through difficult situations. 

Around 3:15, Taeyong heads back to the school to pick up the boys. Some days, if he needs a few extra hours to get work done or clean up around the house, he’ll have the boys stay for the after school program until 5, but today, he didn’t have much else to do aside from his usual daily blog post. He also didn’t have to go shopping or start preparing dinner since everyone is meeting up at Johnny’s.

“Daddy!” Jisung is always the happiest to see Taeyong after school. He scoops his youngest son into his arms.

“Hello my little boys!” The rest of them run over and hug Taeyong’s legs. “How was school today?”

“We drew you pictures Daddy!” Jaemin waves a stack of papers up at Taeyong. “It’s from all of us!” Taeyong sets Jisung down so he can look at all the drawings.

“These are beautiful! How about we hang them up when we get home?” Taeyong usually lets the boys hang up their drawings wherever they want. The living room and kitchen and the hallway upstairs are all decorated with pictures the kids have made. Whenever they take some down to make room for new ones, Taeyong can’t stand the thought of throwing them away, so he has separate little binders for each of the boys and he keeps everything safe.

Getting all of his hyper kids in the car takes longer than it does in the mornings when they’re still a bit tired. 

Back at home, Taeyong sets out little plates of fruit for the boys to snack on.

“Do you guys want to go to Markie and Lucas’s house for dinner? Mr. Johnny invited us over. Yangyang will be there, and Xiaojun and Hendery.” He is met with cheers and laughter. 

“Hyuckie was picking on Markie today!” Renjun points at his brother.

“Liar! We were playing!”

“No, you were chasing him!”

“We were playing!” Donghyuck raises his voice.

Taeyong sighs. “Donghyuck, stop yelling. We use inside voices. It’s also not nice to call people a liar. Renjun, Mark and Hyuckie always chase each other and play like that. Don’t try and get your brother in trouble for no reason. If you keep acting up, we’ll stay here for dinner.” Taeyong doesn’t like having to play the bad guy and discipline his boys, but he has to. He wants his kids to grow up knowing right from wrong. 

“No! We wanna go to Mr. Johnny’s house.” Renjun pouts.

“Then you two need to say sorry to each other.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“Renjun, don’t make me count to 3. I’ll put you with Chenle and Jisung to take a nap if you’re going to act like a baby.”

At the threat of having to nap, Renjun apologizes to Donghyuck. If there’s one thing Renjun doesn’t like, it’s being treated like he’s younger.

“Thank you. You four go play outside. I’ll come out after tucking these two in.” Taeyong watches the four boys scurry out the back door to go play in the backyard. 

Chenle and Jisung still take naps after getting home. Chenle is starting to not want to, but Jisung likes getting to sleep in the middle of the day. Taeyong knows they’re getting a little old for naps, so soon he’ll start to phase them out. He doesn’t mind letting them nap today since they’ll get all tired out at Johnny’s later.

“Come on you two. Let’s go upstairs.”

“Daddy, I’m not tired.” Chenle rubs his eyes and yawns.

“Lele, don’t you want to nap so you have more energy to play with your friends later?”

The little boy yawns again. “Okay.”

They let Taeyong pick them up, one on each arm, and carry them up to their room. Chenle is already half asleep by the time Taeyong gets up the stairs. He sets Jisung down and then lays Chenle in his bed and covers him up. Taeyong turns to Jisung. He climbed in bed, but is sitting there waiting for Taeyong to tuck him in.

“Love you daddy.”

“I love you too Sungie. Sleep well.” Taeyong kisses his little boy on the cheek and turns out the lights before shutting the door.

Back outside, Taeyong sits on the deck watching the boys play. They have a million toys and a small jungle gym. It’s more than enough for them to keep themselves entertained.

Taeyong texts Johnny to see if he needs him to bring anything.

‘Nope, just you and your flock of children.’

Johnny’s house is on the other side of town, so Taeyong starts loading up the kids into the car around 4:30. He went and woke Chenle and Jisung up right before. They usually take hour long naps, so he hopes they’ll fall back asleep in the car. Taeyong’s van has little tvs, so he puts on an episode of the boys’ favorite cartoon to hopefully keep them calm on the drive.

Taeyong loves when his group of dad friends gather. He can let his kids go play and have real talk with adults.

“Taeyong! How was your day?”

“Why are you smirking?”

Johnny laughs. “Your blog post from today was interesting.” Shit. He forgot about that.

He flops down next to Ten on the sofa. Johnny is stationed at the grill and Kun is cutting up vegetables. Johnny has a really nice outdoor kitchen area. It’s far enough away from the kid’s play stuff so they don’t have to watch their words.

“Wait, I didn’t read it yet. What happened?” Kun raises his eyebrow at Taeyong.

“So you know how I go to Starbucks after dropping the kids off?” Kun nods. “Well, today when I was there, a guy came up and started flirting with me. I gave him my number.”

“You didn’t say it was a guy!!!” Johnny almost drops the tongs he’s holding.

“Wait, you like men?”

Johnny sighs. “God damnit, Ten. You never listen. Taeyong is bi. We all are, how did you not know that?”

Kun jumps in. “I didn’t know that either.” 

“I don’t talk about it often. I dated guys in high school, but then I met the boys’ mom in college.”

“Ah, I see. So, you met a guy and gave him your number. Why is that such a big deal? Johnny does that all the time.”

Johnny jumps in again. “It’s a big deal because Taeyong hasn’t seen anyone since /it/ happened.”

“Wait, you haven’t had sex in 3 years?”

“4 years, actually.”

“What?”

“Since Chenle and Jisung were born. Right after we had them, we were too tired from having newborns, and then she got sick not long after. She lived at the hospital most of the time.”

“Okay, so you need to actually date this guy and get laid.”

“Ten, don’t be crude. But I agree.” Kun is about to start talking again, but gets interrupted by Taeyong screeching.

“I think he just texted me. It’s an unknown number.”

“Answer him, you idiot.”

 **Unknown-** Hey Taeyong!

 **Tae-** Is this Jaehyun?

 **Unknown-** oh shit. Yes, this is Jaehyun from Starbucks.

 **Tae-** Hi

 **Jae-** Hi

 **Jae-** I was uhh

 **Jae-** just wondering if maybe

 **Jae-** you wanted to go out to dinner tomorrow night?

“Oh fuck he asked me out.”

Johnny shakes his head. “Say yes.”

“I can’t find a babysitter on that short notice. He wants to get dinner tomorrow.” Taeyong is in panic mode.

“I’ll bring the boys over and watch them. Stay out as late as you want. Your couches are comfortable.”

“Wait are you serious?”

“Yes, Taeyong, now answer the poor boy.”

 **Tae-** Yeah, that sounds nice

 **Jae-** Do you want me to pick you up or should we meet there?

 **Tae-** We can meet there. Did you have a place in mind?

 **Jae-** Yep ;) I’ll send you the address. See you tomorrow Taeyongie!

Taeyong didn’t notice Johnny come up behind him and start reading the texts over his shoulder. 

“Aww, he called you Taeyongie. And his name is Jaehyun. Seems cute.”

“Stop!”

“How old is he? Your blog post said he’s younger.”

“He’s 24.”

Taeyong’s attention is drawn over to the boys. They’re all yelling a lot louder than they were before.

Taeyong gets up and walks across the yard to see what’s going on. 

Jisung is buried in the sandbox. “Stop burying your brother! Donghyuck, get over here, now!” He doesn’t notice Ten laughing from behind him. “Why did you bury Jisung?”  
Hyuck just shrugs.

“Go sit at the picnic table and be quiet.” Taeyong walks over to see all the other boys acting like they don’t know what’s happening. Donghyuck was the one actually burying Jisung, but no one tried stopping him. He turns to Renjun, Jeno, and Jaemin. “Why didn’t you guys stop him from doing this? You all know it’s not okay.”

“They did it first!” Renjun points to Hendery and Lucas standing awkwardly in the sandbox.

“You two, move over.” They step aside to reveal Yangyang, also buried in the sand. “Ten, Kun, Johnny!”

The other dads walk over and have to try and stop themselves from laughing. It’s kind of funny, but they do know it’s not nice. It’s time to be dads.

Ten and Taeyong pull Yangyang and Jisung out of the sand while Kun and Johnny scold their own kids.

“Dinner is ready, but you all are not off the hook for this.” Johnny gives the ‘mad dad’ look to all the boys as they walk over to join Donghyuck at the picnic table.

“Daddy, I’m icky.” Jisung keeps trying to brush all the sand off himself, but it’s not working.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I think I have extra clothes in the car. Come on.” Taeyong takes Jisung inside.

When they’re back from cleaning off Jisung, he runs right back over to the other kids to start eating. Taeyong shakes his head as he rejoins Johnny, Ten, and Kun.

“I can’t believe them sometimes.” Taeyong is exhausted.

“They’re kids, Taeyong.”

“I know, I just want them to grow up to be good people.”

“They will. You’re a great dad. They were just having fun. Yangyang literally bit a kid at school today.” They all turn to Ten.

“Ten, that’s not good.”

“I know! I tried telling him it’s bad, but he just ignores me.”

Johnny laughs. “Okay, enough dad talk, let’s go back to Taeyong and his date.”

Taeyong doesn’t have much else to say about it. He doesn’t know much about Jaehyun, but that’s why they’re going out. He’s excited to have a night off. He doesn’t remember the last time he had a real night out. Johnny would sometimes ask him to go to a club, but Taeyong never felt comfortable leaving the kids. They’re his whole life.

“Taeyong, it’s time. You need to get out and have a little fun. We all know it’s hard being a single parent, but it’s even harder for you because it’s not just one or two kids, it’s six. If I were you, I’d get a babysitter every other night. I don’t know how you do it. You’re literally the best dad we’ve ever met. You deserve to go and have a good time with someone who isn’t under the age of 6.”

“What if he doesn’t like kids?”

“No one said you have to marry this guy. You don’t even have to tell him you have kids yet, it’s a first date.”

“Yeah, just go have a nice dinner and maybe get laid.”

“Ten, I’m not like you, I don’t put out on the first date.”

“Why not?”

After dinner, they don’t stay too long. The boys play a couple games of hide and seek, but around 7:30, Taeyong gathers up his kids to head home. Their usual bedtime is 8, and he doesn’t want to mess with their sleep schedule.

When they get home, Taeyong sits them all on the couch. “Before you go to sleep, I want to talk to you boys. First, Hyuckie, can you apologize to Jisungie for burying him in the sand?”

“Sorry Sungie.”

“Okay. I also wanted to tell you that tomorrow night, Mr. Johnny is going to come stay here and watch you guys. Markie and Lucas will come, too. Daddy is going out to dinner with a new friend. I want you boys to be on your best behavior. You need to eat your dinner and go to bed at bedtime. If you’re good, I’ll think about getting you a special breakfast.” Taeyong isn’t sure if the boys even know what dating is, but he didn’t want to lie to them about where he’s going. “Now go run upstairs and start getting your pjs on and brush your teeth okay? Hyuckie, can you come sit with me?”

The five other boys run up the stairs while Donghyuck walks over to sit on Taeyong’s lap. “You were being a little bit of a troublemaker today. Is something going on buddy?”

Hyuck sniffles a little. “At Mr. Johnny’s, you didn’t play with us. You were only talking to the other daddies. And now you are leaving tomorrow.”

“Baby, I’m sorry for not playing with you at Mr. Johnny’s. You were having fun with your friends. And daddy has friends that he likes to have fun with, too. I promise I’ll play extra with you boys this weekend, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I love you buddy. Let’s get you up to bed now.”

After making sure everyone brushes their teeth, and after tucking in each of the boys, Taeyong finally heads back downstairs. He pours himself a glass of wine and puts on a movie he always meant to go see in theaters.

He unexpectedly gets a text from Jaehyun.

 **Jae-** Hey Taeyongie! I hope you had a good day. I made our reservations at the restaurant. I’ll send the address. I made it for 6pm but I can change it if a different time works better for you!

 **Tae-** 6 is perfect Jaehyun. Thank you for inviting me out. I could use a nice night out.

 **Jae-** Rough day?

 **Tae-** Just felt like it lasted forever. 

**Jae-** I get that. Anything I can help with?

 **Tae-** I’m kicked back with a glass of wine, so I should be okay. How was your day?

 **Jae-** Working at the library means most of my days are pretty uneventful. Meeting you was definitely the highlight of today.

Taeyong can’t believe he’s already falling for Jaehyun. They met this morning, and have only texted each other twice, yet he already feels comfortable talking to him. He doesn’t feel nervous; he’s excited to get to know Jaehyun.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter about Taeyong and Jaehyun's first date!

Taeyong asked Johnny to come over at 5. He has no idea what to wear.

“Okay, chill out. It’s a first date, you’re not meeting the president.” Johnny digs through Taeyong’s closet for a few minutes, but comes up successful. “Put this on.”

Taeyong changes.

“Okay, I like this.” Taeyong can’t stop looking at himself in the mirror.

“Do you have makeup? I think a little eyeliner, a little highlighter, and bam, he’s hooked.” And this is why Taeyong keeps his annoying friends around. They can sometimes be helpful.

It’s nearing 5:30 so Taeyong and Johnny head back downstairs. It’s about time for Taeyong to leave.

“Okay my little boys, come give daddy a big hug!” There’s the sound of 6 pairs of scampering feet before he’s attacked with hugs.

“Daddy looks fancy!”

“Yes, I’m getting a fancy dinner. But I’m still jealous that Mr. Johnny is making you a special fancy dinner too! I love you boys so much. Daddy might not be home before you go to bed so I’ll give you kisses now.”

“Will Mr. Johnny still tuck us in?”

“I’m sure he will if you ask really really nicely.” Taeyong hasn’t left his boys alone like this ever. He’s always home with them. He puts them to bed and kisses them goodnight every single night. It feels weird leaving them, but he trusts Johnny.

Taeyong gets to the restaurant and Jaehyun is already seated.

“I hope you weren’t waiting too long.”

“I just got here. I live pretty close.”

“Are you in the apartments a couple blocks down?”

“Wait, did you stalk me?”

He could tell Jaehyun was joking, but Taeyong panics a little and yells, “No! Oh, god no. That sounded so weird. Shit. Uh, I lived in that building during my first year and a half of college. I ate at this restaurant to celebrate the end of exams every semester because it was fancy but also not too expensive for a college kid with a part time job.”

“That’s really funny. Why did you move in the middle of the year? You said it was only a year and a half.”

“That’s when I got married.”

“Oh, shit, you were really young. Not to sound pushy, and you don’t have to answer, but how long were you together?”

“We met during freshmen orientation, got married during the summer between my first and second year of college, and we were married for about 5 years.”

“Were you the same age?”

“No, she was a year older than me.”

“She?”

“Oh, shit, yeah I’m bi. That never came up, oops.”

“I don’t care, love is love, Taeyong. I just would have guessed you were gay. I mean, you are wearing eyeliner.” Taeyong laughs a lot louder than he should in a restaurant.

“You can thank my best friend for that one. He said I need to draw you in.”

“You already have me, Taeyong.” Jaehyun reaches across the table to take Taeyong’s hand in his.

They have finished dinner and are well into devouring dessert. 

“You know, I didn’t even feel nervous coming here. I was just excited to see you again.”

Jaehyun smiles, his dimples making an appearance. “I was excited to see you, too. I hope this date lived up to your expectations.”

“Oh, this date surpassed all my expectations. I’m not hard to impress.”

“Do you want to take a little walk?”

“Of course.” Taeyong doesn’t even know what time it is, but he doesn’t care. He’s not thinking about anything right now. He’s not worried about the boys, and he’s not scared of disappointing Jaehyun. He’s just having fun.

Jaehyun pays, which makes Taeyong blush like a schoolgirl. Then, he leads the way across the street to a cute little park. 

Their knuckles keep brushing, so Taeyong takes the leap of faith and laces their fingers together. 

“You’re different, Taeyong. There’s just something about you that’s comforting. I feel like I can open up and we could just talk for hours and hours. And I want to know what you have to say. I want to have stupid conversations, and talk about the world. You are a genuinely good person. I want to keep seeing you, if you agree.”

Taeyong doesn’t even have to think. “Yes. I’ve had the best night. I don’t even remember the last time I had this much fun with another person. I’m not the craziest or most spontaneous guy, but can I kiss you?”

Jaehyun only nods before connecting their lips. It’s not like a usual first kiss. It’s not awkward, and it’s not like the cliche fireworks kiss. It’s like a warmth grows between them. A soft glow of promise, inviting them to keep exploring one another.

“I should get home, Jaehyun.”

“Okay.”

“Text me. I like talking to you.”

Before parting ways, Jaehyun gives Taeyong a little peck on the cheek, and he leaves him with a cute dimpled smile.

Taeyong sits in his car for a few minutes. It’s nearing 10:30. He can’t believe he and Jaehyun talked for that long. They never ran out of things to say, and Taeyong didn’t even mention his kids. There’s still so much Taeyong wants to know, and so much he wants to tell. Jaehyun is becoming really special to him.

When he pulls into his driveway, Johnny is sitting in the rocking chair on the front porch, a glass of wine in hand.

“Ah, you made it home.”

“How were the boys?”

“They were great, they ate their dinner, played for a while, did some of their workbook pages for school, and went to bed without a fuss. Now enough about them, tell me about your date! Did you kiss? Did you wink wink nudge nudge? I want to know everything.”

Taeyong sits in the chair next to Johnny. 

“We went to dinner and then took a walk around the little park. We talked a lot. I don’t know how we had so much to say. It was weird. I feel like I could talk to him about anything. And yes, we kissed, but that’s it.”

“Aww, our Taeyongie is growing up.”

“It’s not like I’ve never been in a relationship before.”

“But it has been a while. How do you feel about it?”

Taeyong has thought a lot about it. “I feel okay.” He can’t help but smile thinking about Jaehyun. “I never dated because the kids are my whole life, but I realized how much I miss being with someone. I miss being in love. Meeting Jaehyun and going on a date reminded me of that.”

“Did you tell him you have kids?”

“Not yet. I will, especially if I start to see that it’s getting serious.”

Taeyong and Johnny sit outside for a little longer, sipping their wine and talking about life. They know the kids will be up early, so the two head to bed, Johnny joining his boys on the couch.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a longer chapter this time, with some cute playtime between Taeyong and his 6 little gremlins, and then another Jaeyong date.
> 
> Potential warning for hospitals! A minor injury, and nothing graphic/no graphic descriptions. I am not a medical professional, and I use google as a reference, so if anything in inaccurate, that's why.

Taeyong gets up early to make the boys breakfast. Johnny, Mark, and Lucas are still here. The boys love having their friends over.

“Daddy, will you play with us like you promised? We wanna play dress up!” Taeyong loves his kids, so despite the fact that last time he played dress up, he ended up a cat/fairy, he still agrees. He would do anything for his boys.

“Okay, but you all need to finish your fruit first.”

Johnny takes his boys home after breakfast.

“Daddy has to clean up first. I’ll come play when I’m done, okay?” Taeyong can only laugh at how fast his 6 little ones run out of the kitchen.

Once he finishes cleaning up, Taeyong heads upstairs. The boys have a toy chest full of play clothes, and Taeyong has even bought them cheap makeup to play around with. When he gets to their bedroom, some of the boys are already dressed up. Jeno is a pirate and Donghyuck has a princess dress on. Jisung is in a tiger costume and Jaemin is painting stripes on his face with eyeliner.

“Daddy, put on the fancy clothes from yesterday!” Taeyong laughs, having an idea where this is going.

He gets dressed in the nice clothes he wore on his date and rejoins the boys.

“Okay, my pretty princess, I’m dressed.”

“Sit down. Wanna make you pretty like last night!” Taeyong takes a seat on the floor and watches Donghyuck gather up some of the makeup. He’s very invested in this. Taeyong loves how his eyebrows crinkle together when he focuses.

There’s not a mirror, so Taeyong can’t see what Hyuck is doing. He can only feel the gentle swipe of the little brushes.

“Hyuckie, what are you doing to daddy? He looks silly!” Jaemin points and laughs. 

Taeyong walks down the hall and looks at himself in the bathroom mirror. “Wow, Hyuckie. This is very pretty.”

“I did better this time!”

“Good job buddy.”

“Take a picture! Take a picture!”

“Do you want to take it for me?” Taeyong hands his phone over and smiles for a picture.

“Pretty!” Taeyong hears his phone vibrate. “Daddy, someone named Jaehyun texted you. Who’s that?”

“That’s daddy’s new friend that he saw last night.”

“Okay.” Donghyuck gives back the phone before running back to the bedroom to keep playing.

 **Jae-** Hey. I had a lot of fun last night. I hope we can do it again sometime.

 **Tae-** I would love to

 **Jae-** I haven’t stopped thinking about you kissing me.

 **Tae-** Oh really?

 **Jae-** Do you like flowers?

 **Tae-** That’s a bit out of the blue, but yes, I love flowers.

 **Jae-** If you have a free night this week, I think I know a place you would like.

 **Tae-** I’ll have to check my schedule

Taeyong is freaking out. He didn’t expect to hear from Jaehyun so soon, and he definitely didn’t expect another date.

He retreats to his room to call Johnny.

“You never call me. What’s up?”

“Jaehyun asked me on another date. He wants to know what night I’m free this week and since you offered to babysit, I thought I’d ask you.”

He can hear Johnny sigh through the phone. “You’re an adult Taeyong, I think you can do this on your own. I told you I’d help whenever possible, and if I’m busy, then ask Kun.”

“You’re right. I guess I’m just nervous.”

The boys call Taeyong back to play, so he hangs up and gets back to Donghyuck’s little beauty salon. He has put makeup on most of his brothers at this point.

“Look at all of my pretty boys!” Taeyong snaps a couple photos of all of them. 

Taeyong gets into parent mode for the rest of the weekend. When the boys are home all day, he spends as much time with them as he can. They go swimming in their little kiddie pool and Taeyong makes plenty of snacks. 

On Monday, Taeyong is at the coffee shop again when someone sits in the booth with him.

“Hey Taeyongie.”

“Jaehyun! Hi. How are you?”

“I’m good. I don’t mean to be pushy, but you never got back to me about if there’s a night you’re free this week.” 

Taeyong’s eyes widen. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry! I meant to reply, I was just with family.” He brings up his calendar on his laptop. “How about Thursday?” 

“Thursday works. I can pick you up if you want.”

“Where are we going? Is it in town? I wouldn’t want to make you go out of your way.”

“I guess you’re right. And the place is a secret but I’ll give you an address close by and we’ll walk there. It’s not dinner, either, it’s more of an afternoon thing.”

Taeyong knows he can’t have anyone else pick the boys up from school since they won’t fit in any of his friend’s cars. Their school gets out at 3:30 and the after school program isn’t running this week because it’s parent-teacher conferences.

“Well, I’m free either before 3:00 or after 4:00.”

“We could meet at 4. Maybe after the secret place, we could grab a quick dinner then.” Jaehyun smiles. 

Taeyong nods. He’ll have to remember to get Johnny to babysit again. He hopes the kids don’t mind him being gone again.

It’s a long week. Taeyong doesn't have much inspiration for blog posts. He has his conferences with the kids’ teachers on Wednesday, and he learns that Donghyuck hasn’t been paying much attention. Taeyong sits him down alone and asks if anything is wrong. It’s a long conversation since Donghyuck keeps avoiding talking to him.

Thursday doesn’t come around fast enough. Johnny brings his kids over right after school since Taeyong has to leave for his date. 

“Daddy, where are you going?”

“I am meeting my friend again. I’ll be back before bed, don’t worry.”

He drives to the address Jaehyun texted him. He can see his date waiting on a bench a little ways up the sidewalk.

“Hey Jaehyun.” Taeyong greets him with a little kiss on the cheek.

“Oh, hello there. Shall we go?” Jaehyun offers his hand.

They stop in front of the movie theater.

“We’re seeing a movie?”

“Nope.” Jaehyun leads Taeyong to the elevator and they go up to the roof.

“What’s on the roof? I didn’t think people were allowed up here.”

Jaehyun just laughs. “It’s not very well-known, but the roof was made into a garden and coffee shop. Welcome to Sky Rose Garden.”

“No way!” Taeyong looks around. In one corner, there is a little cafe set up with small treats and the coffee bar. The rest of the roof is beautifully decorated with rows and rows of roses. There are a few tables and some lookout areas. “Jaehyun, this is amazing!”

“Let’s get some coffee. Then we can look around. You can see the whole city.”

The two do just that. They find a table away from the other couples walking around. They talk for a while. Jaehyun tells Taeyong about his day and they talk about the flowers.

“Shall we head to grab a quick dinner?”

Before Taeyong can answer, his phone rings. It’s Johnny. Taeyong can only think about how he always tells Johnny to call if something is wrong.

“Sorry, I need to take this.”

“Oh, go ahead.”

Taeyong answers and walks a little ways away from Jaehyun. “Johnny?”

“Uhhh, you have to come home, like right now.”

“What happened?”

He hears a cry in the background. “Chenle fell down the stairs and I think he broke his finger. I don’t have enough car seats to take them all to the hospital.”

“Shit. I’ll be right there and take him. You can keep an eye on the rest of them right?”

“Yes, of course, just get here. He’s crying and asking for you.”

Taeyong almost forgets to tell Jaehyun he has to leave. 

“Hey, you look upset? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, I have to go, Jae. I’ll text you later.” Taeyong rushes away, not seeing the hurt look on Jaehyun’s face.

When Taeyong gets home, he runs inside. “Johnny! Where are you?”

“Living room!”

Taeyong almost cries when he walks in. Chenle’s face is red and his cheeks are wet. He won’t stop crying. His hand is wrapped in ice. 

“Oh, my poor Lele, daddy’s here.” He picks him up and watches out for his hand.

Johnny stands up. “Nothing is sticking out, but it’s quite crooked and he keeps saying it hurts. I called the kid’s doctor and he did say to take him to the emergency room.”

“Where are the other boys? Do they know what happened?”

“They did see him fall. They’re all upstairs playing right now. I told them you’re coming to get Lele.”

“Okay. Thank you for watching them. I’ll text you with updates.” Taeyong takes Chenle to the car and buckles him in.

“Daddy, where are we goin’?”

“We have to go to the doctor, baby. They’re going to fix your finger. It’ll be okay, don’t worry.”

At the hospital, they won’t let Taeyong be in the room while the doctor fixes Chenle’s finger. He texts Johnny to stop himself from thinking about if his baby boy is in pain. He can tell he’s more worried than Chenle was. He can be loud, but he’s a tough little 4-year-old.

“Mr. Lee?”

Taeyong looks up from his phone. The doctor is holding Chenle’s not-broken hand.

“My tough little boy! Are you okay?”

“Look it! It’s green.” The bandage on his fingers is bright green. “I picked it myself.”

“It’s pretty!” Taeyong picks him up and squeezes him tightly. 

The doctor motions for Taeyong to follow him back into the room. “So, his finger is broken. We did an x-ray and it isn’t too bad. We had to set it and it’s being held in place by the surrounding fingers. We want you to make an appointment for 2 weeks out so we can do another x-ray and see if it’s healing right. If not, we might have to re-set it and put it in a splint or a small cast. But if everything is healing nicely, we’ll just have you keep it wrapped. Broken fingers generally take 4 weeks to heal. You’ll have to keep him a bit calm. You might want to keep him home from daycare for a few days.” Taeyong listens intently. It’ll be hard to keep Chenle calm. He’s usually the one initiating the boys playing rough. 

“Okay. How was he while you were fixing his finger?”

“He’s a trooper. You’ve got one tough little boy.”

“I’ve got 6, and I can assure you, the other 5 would not have been this calm.”

The doctor lets out a little laugh. “Well, I bet you have to get home to them. Have a good night.”

By the time he gets home, it’s about time for the boys to get to bed. He carries Chenle upstairs to see Johnny tucking Jisung in.

“I can take over.”

“You’re back. How is Lele?”

Taeyong kisses the little boy on the forehead. “He’s my tough kid. The doctor said he was the best patient of the day.” Taeyong starts to help Chenle get into his pajamas. 

“The other boys are already in bed, but I doubt they’re asleep. Hyuckie wanted to wait for you to get back.”

“Thanks for everything John. You can get your boys home now.”

“Make sure to eat when you’re done saying goodnight.”

“I will. See you later.”

Taeyong tucks in Chenle and gives Jisung a kiss goodnight. He walks across the hall to the other boys’ room. He goes around and kisses everyone goodnight. They’re all so tired, they barely notice it’s him. Well, except for Donghyuck.

“Daddy, is Lele okay?”

“He’s fine buddy. He’s already asleep in his room. Thank you for being good for Mr. Johnny today. Get to sleep okay? I love you baby.”

“Love you too daddy. G’night.” Hyuck cuddles back under his covers.

Taeyong goes downstairs into the kitchen. He opens the fridge to find a container with a note on it.

_While you were gone, I made you some chicken and noodles. Reheat in the microwave for 45 seconds, stir, and then 30 second intervals until it’s the desired temp. There’s also ice cream in the fridge. -Johnny_

Taeyong smiles. He has the best friends.

While he’s eating, he remembers how he left Jaehyun. Taeyong gets out his phone.

 **Tae-** Hey Jaehyun. I’m so sorry for running out earlier. There was an emergency and I had to go to the hospital. Everything is fine, but I probably won’t be around much the next few days. I hope you understand. I do really like you.

 **Jae-** You don’t have to explain Taeyongie. I’m glad everything is okay. 

**Tae-** You’re the best, Jae

 **Jae-** When do I get to see you again?

 **Tae-** I don’t know right now. I’ll text you in a few days.

 **Jae-** Okay. I’ll see you soon Tae <3

Taeyong gets a big glass of wine when he finishes his dinner. He texts Johnny to thank him for the food. It’s been a long day, but he got through it, and he’ll get through all the hard days to come.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Small TW for mention of death that happened in the past.
> 
> Other than that it's a cute chapter about Taeyong telling Jae about his kids XD

It takes Taeyong almost 2 weeks to text Jaehyun again. He has the doctor’s appointment with Chenle in a few days, but he knows he needs to tell Jaehyun about his kids. He was going to tell him at the rose garden, but then Johnny called. 

Taeyong texts him.

**Tae-** Are you free right now?

**Jae-** Yeah. What’s up?

**Tae-** Can you meet me at the park? There’s something I need to say but I can’t say it over the phone.

**Jae-** Okay. I’ll head over there. Are you okay?

**Tae-** Yeah, I’m fine.

Taeyong calls Johnny to have him also go to the park. There’s a playground and he can have Johnny watch everyone while he talks to Jaehyun.

When he gets there, the kids all run to play, except Chenle. He’s still not allowed to play rough since his finger is still healing. He runs over to sit with Johnny instead.

Taeyong finds a bench a little farther away and sees he has a text from Jaehyun.

**Jae-** Where are you?

**Tae-** Kind of near the playground 

**Jae-** Oh I see you now

“Hi.”

“Hi.” Jaehyun sits down next to Taeyong. 

He’s about to start talking when Jae starts first. “Aw, look at the cute little kids over there!” Jaehyun points to the playground.

“You like kids?” Taeyong is surprised. Maybe this won’t end as badly as he thinks.

“I love kids. It may be a weird thing to say to a guy I’ve only been on a few dates with, but I’ve always wanted a big family. Kids are the best.”

“Yeah, they are. And big families are pretty great.” Taeyong smiles at his boys from afar.

“Did you grow up in a big family?”

“Umm, actually…” He hesitates.

Jaehyun shifts on the bench, turning towards Taeyong more. “What is it?”

“I have kids.” Taeyong finally makes eye contact with Jaehyun. 

“Oh, wow. That’s unexpected. It makes sense, I guess. You were married for a few years.”

“Are you freaked out?”

Jaehyun’s eyes go wide. “Oh my god, Taeyong, no! Did you think I would break up with you because you have kids? No no no, Taeyong, I would never! I really like you, and I love kids. Tell me about yours! How many do you have? How old are they?”

Taeyong can’t help but laugh. This is going so much better than he thought it could. “Well, I have 6 boys. The four older ones are turning 6 soon and the two younger ones are 4. They’re actually on the playground over there.”

“There are 8 kids there.”

“Oh yeah. The guy on that bench is my friend Johnny. He has 2, and he’s keeping an eye on my little ones. The small one sitting next to him… The call I got at the rose garden was because he fell down the stairs and broke his finger. I had to go home to take him to the hospital since Johnny couldn’t fit all of them in one car. That’s why I was acting weird that night. It was such a weird day. And the last two weeks, I’ve basically had to keep him away from doing everything he loves just so he doesn’t hurt his finger more. The others aren’t helping at all. They are being as crazy as ever and oh my god I’m rambling so much, I’m sorry.”

Jaehyun just laughs. “It’s okay Yongie. I can tell how much you love them. I guess it makes sense now. You did always just have this caring dad aura.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s cute. And, for the record, if you’re comfortable with it, I’d love to meet them sometime.” 

Taeyong stares at Jaehyun. “Really?”

“Of course. They’re obviously a huge part of your life, and I want to be part of your life too, if you’ll let me. I know I’m younger-”

“Jaehyun, I would love for you to continue to be part of my life. I don’t know if I’m ready to have you meet them yet, but I will definitely think about it.” Taeyong smiles. He’s happy. “Oh, there’s, um, one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“So, you know that I was married.” Jaehyun nods. “Their mom and I, well, we didn’t get divorced.”

“Is she still around or something? Are you just like, separated?”

“No. She, umm, she passed away.” 

Jaehyun falls silent.

Taeyong takes a deep breath. “You don’t have to say anything. It was 3 years ago. The boys were 3 and 1. They don’t really remember her. They just know that other kids in their class have a mommy and a daddy, but their mommy is gone. It’s okay though, because their daddy loves them extra, and he’ll always be here for them.”

“How did she die? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“It’s okay. She got very sick right after the twins were born. She was only home for a couple weeks before the doctors wanted her to stay at the hospital full time. I wanted to be with her, to comfort her, but I had to take care of the boys. They were still too young to know what was going on and she didn’t want them to see her sick like that.”

“I’m so sorry Taeyong. So, you’ve been raising them all on your own for almost 4 years?”

Taeyong nods. “I have a few friends who are all single dads with boys the same age, so we kind of just help each other out when we need it. The day I met you, we had one of our infamous dad dinners and pretty much just talked about you the whole time.”

Jaehyun is about to say something, but there’s a flash of blue stripes and then Donghyuck is climbing onto Taeyong.

“Daddy, I thought you were coming to play.”

“Hyuckie, I told you I would come over when I’m done. We talked about patience, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, but Junie is being bossy again.”

“Tell him I’m going to talk to him about that later. Let daddy talk to his friend now, okay?” Donghyuck looks up at Jaehyun for the first time.

“Who are you?”

“Hyuckie, that’s not how we talk to people. Say it nice.”

“Hi. What is your name? I’m Lee Donghyuck.”

“It is very nice to meet you Donghyuck. I’m Jaehyun.”

Taeyong see’s his son’s eyes go wide. “You text daddy a lot!”

“Yes, I do.”

“Did you know your hair is purple? Why is it purple?”

Jaehyun smiles. “I know. I like purple, so I made my hair purple. Do you like it?”

“It’s pretty!”

“Okay, that’s enough for now, buddy. Go play with your brothers and Mr. Johnny.” Taeyong can’t help but laugh as his son runs away again. “I did not expect that.”

“He’s one of the 5 year olds?” Jaehyun has the biggest smile on his face.

“Yep. He’s the handful, but I love him.”

“You are such a dad. That had to be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. And how does he know about me texting you?”

“He’s the only one that knows your name because he had my phone one of the times you texted me. The others just know that I have a new friend, and that’s why Johnny watches them more.”

“I get it now. You never wanted me to pick you up because you probably live in a big family home and have kid stuff everywhere. And with the timing of our dates, you had to pick them up from school. What kind of blog do you run where it makes enough to support a big family?”

“I’m sure you’ll be surprised to find out it’s a daddy blog. I pretty much just write about what I’m going through while raising 6 kids as a single father. Sometimes brands send me stuff to review. Sometimes a company will sponsor a post. It helps me keep a relatively open schedule so that I can spend as much time with them as possible.”

“That’s really nice, Taeyong. I would love to stay and maybe meet more of your kids, but I can tell you want to get over there. It’s okay. Let me know when you’re free. You can make up for that dinner you ran out on.” Jaehyun laughs as he stands.

Taeyong can’t help but pull him in for a kiss. Hopefully his kids didn’t see.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just another short chapter! Hope you guys are liking the story so far <3

Taeyong sees Jaehyun a few times over the next two weeks. They have coffee in the mornings and text every night after the kids are in bed. Jaehyun plans most of their dates since Taeyong is pretty busy.

It’s another dad squad dinner night, and again, the topic stays on Jaehyun.

“So, he met Hyuck by accident?” Kun and Ten are hearing the story for the first time.

“Yep. Johnny was watching them on the playground while I told Jae about them and Hyuckie ran over.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him I have 6 boys and their mom passed away 3 years ago, so I’ve been on my own, but I have you guys to help me when I need it. He said if I’m comfortable with it and if I feel the same, he wants to keep being in my life and eventually meet the boys for real.”

Ten squeals in excitement. “That is so cute! He said that?”

Taeyong nods. He still has trouble believing Jaehyun is that perfect.

“If you want a neutral space to introduce them, you could always invite Jae here for dinner. The boys won’t get too freaked out since they’ll be playing with each other, and we can meet him, too. He can taste your cooking.” Johnny shrugs casually. 

“I’ll have to ask him. We’re going out again tomorrow while the kids are at school.”

Kun cocks an eyebrow. “Does he have a job? He seems to be able to hang out whenever you ask.”

“He’s working at the library while he looks for a job. He just graduated from grad school.”

“Have you had sex yet?”

“No.”

“Taeyong! It’s been over a month, what are you waiting for?”

Taeyong gets distracted by a text message.

**Jae-** Hey are you free tonight? I know it’s short notice.

**Tae-** I’m at Johnny’s with the kids

**Jae-** Oh, right I remember you telling me about that. One of your dad dinners?

**Tae-** Yep

“Taeyong. Earth to Taeyong!” Ten waves a hand in front of his face.

“Oh, sorry, he asked if I was free tonight.”

“I hope you told him you are!”

“What, no, I’m here with the kids. I can’t just leave.”

Johnny walks up and stands right in front of Taeyong. “Call him. Have him come pick you up. It’s a Friday night, the boys can stay here and you can have him bring you back in the morning. Do it.”

Taeyong rolls his eyes but walks inside to call Jaehyun.

“Oh, what a nice surprise.”

“Johnny offered to have the kids stay here tonight if your offer is still on the table.”

“Of course. I miss you.”

“Can you come pick me up? I’ll send you the address, and I warn you that my friends will probably come out to meet you.” Taeyong doesn’t want his friends to ambush Jaehyun without warning him first.

“That sounds lovely. I’ll see you soon.”

Taeyong goes out back again to say goodbye to the boys.

He gathers them all up, Jisung and Chenle on his lap. “So, you boys are going to stay here tonight, is that okay?”

“Yeah!”

“Will you be here?”

“Daddy was invited to his friend’s house. Is that okay with you guys?”

“It’s okay! Daddy can have fun with his friend and we get to have fun with Mr. Johnny and Markie and Lucas!”

Taeyong smiles at his boys. “I love you all soooo much! Maybe you can even ask nicely and Mr. Kun and Mr. Ten will stay so that Yangie, Xiaojunie, and Dery can also have a sleepover.” The boys’ eyes light up at the idea.

Taeyong tries to sneak out when Jaehyun gets here, but Johnny, Kun, and Ten still end up on the front porch with him.

“Hello, you must be Jaehyun. I’m Johnny. I’ve seen you from afar.”

“Johnny stop being weird. I’d expect that from Ten, not you.” Taeyong scolds his friends. He can see that it makes Jaehyun laugh.

“Hi, it’s nice to meet you all.”

“I’m Kun.”

“My name is Ten, like the number.”

“Hello Kun and Ten the number. Thank you for allowing me to steal Taeyong.”

Johnny puts a hand on Jaehyun’s shoulder. It makes Taeyong nervous for what’s about to come out of his mouth. “Jaehyun, be careful with our Taeyongie. We do not expect him home until the morning, so feel free to have as much s-”

“AND we are leaving.” Taeyong interrupts. “You guys are the worst. Thank you for taking care of my kids. Please don’t fuck up their sleep schedule or I will cut off all of your balls.” He drags Jaehyun to the car and can only roll his eyes as his friends wave at them.

“Your friends are fun.”

“They’re all dads, so I seriously should have expected them to corner you like that.”

“It’s okay. How many kids do they all have?”

“Ten has one kid, but Yangyang is a tiny little psycho and Ten needs a lot of help. Kun has twins, Hendery and Xiojun. Johnny also has twins, Mark and Lucas. Ten’s kid is 6, and then Kun’s and Johnny’s kids are all 7. They all go to the same school.”

Jaehyun nods along. He likes learning about Taeyong’s life. “Were they serious about you being able to spend the night?”

“Yes.” Taeyong pauses. “I don’t know if it was obvious or not, but I haven’t really been with anyone since I’ve been single again.”

“If you aren’t ready, or don’t want to, I totally get it. That’s not even why I texted you. I just wanted to hang out and-”

Taeyong cuts Jaehyun off. “Believe me, Jaehyun, I want to. Our dates have just been at awkward moments of the day where I’m expected to get home to my kids. The timing was never right before.”

They pull up to Jaehyun’s apartment building.

Jae turns to face Taeyong. “So, you do… you want to…?” 

Taeyong nods and smiles. “Yeah, I think so.”


	6. Chapter 6

The moon is shining in through the window, making patterns on the floor. Jaehyun and Taeyong are cuddled up in Jaehyun’s bed. Their clothes are still thrown about the room. 

Taeyong is laying on Jaehyun’s chest. “That was fun.”

Jae smiles. “You didn’t seem very out of practice. Maybe it’s like riding a bike. Once you learn, you don’t really forget.”

“That is definitely something Ten would say.”

Jaehyun laughs, pulling Taeyong impossibly closer. 

They slowly, silently, lean in towards one another until their lips are just barely touching. Taeyong is the one to press forward. One of Jaehyun’s hands comes up to Taeyong’s cheek. It’s a light touch, and it’s so gentle. His other hand is smoothing up and down Taeyong’s back. 

When they take a breath, Jaehyun lets out a huff. “Someone’s still eager. No need to rush Yongie.”

“Just keep kissing me.” Taeyong rearranges himself so he’s straddling Jaehyun. 

_*the next morning*_

When Taeyong wakes up,it’s still pretty early, so Jaehyun will probably sleep a little longer. Taeyong finds his boxers abandoned on the floor and then heads out to the kitchen to make breakfast for the two of them. 

Strong arms wrap around Taeyong’s waist as he’s cooking. “I almost thought you left, but then I smelled something amazing. You didn’t have to make breakfast.”

“Jae, I’m a dad. I like taking care of people and I like cooking. I’m doing this cause I want to. Now sit down. It’s almost done.”

As they sit at the breakfast table, morning light streaming through the window, the two boys are still giggly. 

“I had lots of fun last night Jae.”

“Yeah, I can still feel how much fun you had. I’m just glad my roommate is gone this weekend.” Jaehyun smirks, knowing his comment will make Taeyong blush. It’s cute how flustered he gets. 

Taeyong is too busy thinking of his next words and doesn’t clearly hear Jaehyun. “So I’ve been thinking a little bit, and I thought of an easy way for you to meet my kids once I’m ready for that to happen.” 

Jaehyun listens intently to what Taeyong says next. 

“We have those dad dinners at least every other week, and usually the kids play on their own while we supervise from afar and have grown up time. Maybe sometime you can join us. The kids will get to meet you, but there’s not as much stress because they won’t be focused 100% on the new stranger at dinner. Then as you’re around more and more, they’ll feel comfortable around you too.”

Jaehyun smiles. “I like that you’re worried about me meeting your kids. It’s cute.”

“They can just be a little awkward around new people and I don’t want to put them in a situation where it would just be the 8 of us. I think for a first meeting, we need a buffer of the other dads and their kids.” 

They keep talking about the kids and about what Jaehyun’s been up to while they eat the breakfast Taeyong made for them. 

“What time do your kids wake up? When do I have to return you to them?” Jaehyun sounds sad at the idea of Taeyong having to go. 

“Probably soon.”

Jaehyun reaches across the table and takes Taeyong’s hand, interlacing their fingers. “I wish we could just go back to bed.”

“How about... I wait for Johnny to text me and you and I can go sit on the couch.” A little wink has Jaehyun laughing again. They leave their plates on the table and Jaehyun drags Taeyong to the living room.

They lose track of time making out on the couch. Taeyong doesn’t know if it's been 5 minutes or 50, but he and Jae spend the whole time as close as possible. Jaehyun can’t keep his hands off Taeyong. Whether it’s softly stroking his cheek, or fingers tangling in his hair, Jaehyun always has a hand on him. 

But then the dreaded phone rings and Taeyong pulls away from Jaehyun to answer it.

“Hey John. You ready to be free of my little minions?”

“Yeah. Kun and Ten took their kids home earlier and now Jisung keeps asking where you are and it made the rest of them start whining. I tried to give you as much alone time as possible, but I am not used to this many kids.”

Taeyong laughs. “It’s okay, I get it. And don’t worry, we had plenty of alone time. I’ll have Jae bring me back now. It’ll be maybe 20 minutes.”

“Cool cool. They’re still eating breakfast, so they should be done by the time you’re here.”

“Thanks for watching them Johnny. See you in a few.”

Taeyong hangs up and has to kiss the pout off Jaehyun’s lips.

“I don’t want you to go.”

Taeyong gets up and walks back to Jae’s bedroom to get dressed. 

~

When they pull up to Johnny’s house, Jaehyun pulls him in for one final kiss. “I’ll text you later okay? Thank you for coming over.”

Taeyong just smiles and gets out of the car. He waves Jaehyun off and then goes inside.

“Daddy’s back!”

“Hi daddy!”

“Hey boys. How was your night?” This was the first time he’s been away from them overnight. 

“It was fun! We watched movies and got to make a big pillow bed in the living room!” Jeno is the one excitedly yelling.

Chenle can’t help but want to be louder. “Mister Johnny made us pancakes!”

“Ah, he got you all full of sugar right before we leave?” Johnny just smiles mischievously at Taeyong. “Okay boys, we should get ready to go home. Say goodbye to Mark and Lucas and thank Mr. Johnny for letting you stay here.”

As the boys run around saying goodbye to their friends, Johnny stands next to Taeyong. “So, are you going to tell me what you did last night?”

“Nope. There are kids around. It wouldn’t be appropriate.” Johnny’s eyes go wide and he is about to make an inappropriate joke, but Taeyong stops him since the kids are running back towards them. “We’ll talk later John. Thanks again.” 

Taeyong leads his 6 boys to the car and helps them all get buckled into their car seats.

~

It’s been a few days since Taeyong has heard from Jaehyun. Even after their little sleepover, Jaehyun never even texted him.

Taeyong is sitting in Starbucks with Kun and Johnny. They already dropped off the kids at school. Ten had some work to do so he couldn’t join them.

“Usually Jaehyun is here around this time, isn’t he? You always talk about how you two get coffee a lot.” Kun takes a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, he usually is.”

“Why do you sound all emotionally constipated this morning?”

Taeyong sighs. “He hasn’t texted me at all since that night.”

“Shit, Taeyong…” Johnny reaches over and pats him on the back.

“Wait, why is that bad? You don’t want a guy who’s super needy, you already have kids.”

Johnny shakes his head. “Kun, they finally had sex, and then Jaehyun ghosted him.”

“Oh. Wait they fucked? Why didn’t I know that?”

“It’s not a big deal…”

“Have you been texting him and he doesn’t reply, or have you just not spoken, cause there’s a difference.” Johnny has a point there.

Taeyong thinks back. “I texted him once, later that morning, but since then, no I haven’t texted him.”

“So maybe he’s just busy the same way you’ve also been busy.”

Taeyong shrugs. He gets up to go to the bathroom and when he comes back, Johnny yells, “Pick up your goddamn phone. It started blowing up the second you left.”

He answers it when it starts ringing again.

“Taeyong. I’m so sorry!” In order to talk privately, Taeyong steps outside. 

“What’s going on Jae? Everything okay?”

“I should have called or something before disappearing. Trust me, I was going to call.”

“Jaehyun, don’t worry about it. You sound really freaked out though.”

Taeyong hears a big sigh through the other end of the phone. “I’m not really freaked out, just extremely exhausted. I had to unexpectedly fly to the USA… My parents live here.”

“You’re in the US?”

“Yeah. It was a super last minute thing. I meant to tell you, but they kept calling me and rushing me to get on a flight. I’ll be gone for a few weeks I think.”

“Oh.”

“I’ll text you as often as I can. I know the time difference will be pretty hard to work around, but I could barely survive the last few days. It sounds crazy, but I already miss you Yongie. I’ll let you know when I come back so we can see each other.”

“I’d like that.”

“I have to go now, but I’ll text you, okay?”

“Okay.”

When Taeyong rejoins his friends at their table, he has a big smile on his face. He explains the situation before they have time to make any jokes. 

“Real question,” Johnny pauses the conversation. “When are you going to let Jaehyun meet the kids? And how will it happen?”

“We’ve actually talked about this. I took your advice, John, and thought he could come to one of our cookouts. He can meet the boys in a chill setting. Since he’ll be gone for a few weeks, I’m going to think about maybe having this happen when he’s back. It’s been a little over 2 months since I met him, and I feel really good about him. I know he’s the first person I’ve gotten close to, but I have strong feelings for him. It would be one thing if he tolerated the fact that I have kids, but he’s actually excited to meet them and get to know them, too.”

Kun laughs.

“What?”

“It’s cute, Taeyong. He does seem like a good guy. I can’t wait for this next cookout. We get to meet him for real.” Kun smirks, and Taeyong is left shaking his head.

“I have to get some work done now, so if you’ll excuse me.” Taeyong heads back home to write his blog post of the day.

_7/6/20 - Am I Ready?  
I’ve talked about my newfound love interest a few times, so I’m sure you’re all aware that he hasn’t met my boys yet. Today I found out that he will be out of town for a few weeks. He comes back at the end of the month and that’ll mark over 2 months since I met him. I think I’m almost ready for the meeting to happen.  
One of my 5-year-olds, Hyuckie, already briefly met him. The day I told him about my kids, Hyuckie ran over to tattle on one of his brothers and he introduced himself to my “new friend”. It went well, and he really liked getting to meet one of my kids. I know he said he wants to meet them and he’s excited, but I’ve never had a romantic partner before. I don’t plan on trying to explain that part right away, but I don’t even know how to tell them who he is. Do I call him my friend? My boyfriend? How much will my 5-year-olds understand?  
Overall, I’m just confused and nervous. I know he’ll like the boys, but I want the boys to like him, too. If anyone has advice on how to make this meeting a calm one, or how to explain it to my boys, I would really appreciate the help. I’m in uncharted territory right now.  
-Taeyong_


	7. Chapter 7

**Jae-** My flight is on the 28th, so hopefully I can see you then!

**Tae-** I have a little bit of a surprise…

**Jae-** What?

**Tae-** The dad club is having a cookout on the 29th. If you would like, you are invited to join us so you can officially meet my boys (and my friends and all their kids)

**Jae-** Yes! I accept! Are you sure you’re ready? I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything

**Tae-** Well, you already met one of them, and frankly, the others are jealous. Plus, we’ve known each other for 2 months now, and I have a good feeling about us, Jae. I hope you feel the same.

**Jae-** Of course I do Yongie! I love spending time with you. Will I finally get to see your house, or are the cookouts always at Johnny’s?

**Tae-** Always at Johnny’s. He has the biggest backyard and the biggest wallet (he buys fancy meat)

**Jae-** Should I bring something? I can get chips or soda or ice cream or something.

**Tae-** Just bring yourself Jae, it’ll be fine. I should go though.

**Jae-** Wait I’ve been meaning to ask… the younger one who broke his finger, how is he?

**Tae-** Aww Jae you’re the sweetest! He’s doing good. The finger is healed and out of the splint, but I still have been keeping an extra eye on him so he doesn’t hurt it again right away.

**Jae-** I’m glad he’s okay. I’ll let you get going now. See you in a few days!!!

Taeyong can’t help but internally scream. Jaehyun is killing him with how cute he’s being. The main way to Taeyong’s heart is through his kids, and with Jaehyun already caring about them before even meeting them, Taeyong is weakening. He also keeps wondering if or when Jaehyun will officially ask to be his boyfriend. They’ve gone on plenty of dates, sure, but neither has mentioned the big B word.

The 29th comes around and the dad squad is in the backyard with the kids. Taeyong gets a text and his heart starts racing.

“He’s here.” Taeyong gathers his boys around quickly. “So, you guys know that daddy has a new friend, right?” They all nod. “Well, he really really wanted to meet you guys. Is it okay if he comes over right now?”

Six pairs of eyes brighten at that question.

“We get to meet your friend?”

“Is he nice?”

“Can we show him Markie’s and Lucas’s toys?”

“Yes, he’s very nice and I’m sure he would love to see their toys. Maybe all of us can play a big game of hide and seek after dinner?” After getting their approval, Taeyong walks through the house to the front door to get Jaehyun.

They’re on the porch when Jaehyun stops him. “Can I ask you something first?”

“Okay.”

“So, we’ve been on some dates, and I’m meeting your kids… We both know that we feel really strongly about each other. We both see a future here, right?” Taeyong nods. “Yongie, will you be my boyfriend?”

Taeyong’s entire face turns red. He can’t help it. “Of course!” He wraps his arms around Jaehyun and kisses him. It doesn’t last long since they have somewhere to be.

Taeyong leads Jaehyun through the house. “Prepare yourself. There are 3 nosey adults and 11 energetic children out there.”

“I’m so ready.”

They walk onto the back deck holding hands.

“Hey, it’s Jaehyun!” Johnny puts down his tongs and chopsticks to give Jae a bro-hug despite only having met him once.

Kun and Ten go for a more casual handshake.

“Please don’t be so awkward,” Taeyong begs his friends.

“Sorry, he’s just so… young. And he doesn’t have stress wrinkles.”

Jaehyun laughs, “Wait, how old are all of you? Taeyongie, you’re 28, right?”

“I actually just turned 29. Ten is 26, Kun is 29, and Johnny is 31.”

Johnny looks offended. “Hey, why do you have to laugh when saying I’m 31? Age is just a number, baby, it doesn’t bother me. You’re almost here, too, buddy.”

“Wait, Taeyongie, I missed your birthday?”

“Yeah, it’s July 1st.”

Ten chimes in. “We sent the boys to bed then all got super drunk and fell asleep on the floor.”

Before they can continue that conversation, Taeyong decides it’s time for Jae to meet the boys. They walk together down the deck steps to where the kids are all playing tag.

“Hey, everyone, come over here for a minute! I have someone I want you to meet.” Taeyong kneels down so he’s at eye-level with his 6 boys. He smiles even brighter when Jaehyun does the same. “This is my new friend Jaehyun. Can you all introduce yourselves to him?”

“Hi Mister Jaehyun! I’m Donghyuck! I saw you at the park.”

“Hello Mister Jaehyun. I- Uh, I’m Jeno.”

“Hi Mister Jaehyun. I am Jaemin! I’m almost 6!”

“It is nice to meet you Mister Jaehyun. My name is Renjun.”

“Hi. I’m Chenle.”

When it comes to be Jisung’s turn, he doesn’t say a word, but before Taeyong can step in to help his youngest son, Jaehyun does something unexpected.

Jaehyun reaches out his hand in a handshake. “Hi cutie. I’m Jaehyun. What’s your name?”

“Jisungie.” It comes out as a whisper.

“It is very nice to meet you Jisungie. Are you having fun playing?” Jisung nods, still acting all shy. “What are you boys playing?”

“Hide and seek.”

“Can I play with you later? Maybe your dad will too.” The smile that spreads on Jisung’s face makes Taeyong’s heart melt. He wasn’t sure about Jaehyun meeting his kids, but seeing the way he’s acting around them makes Taeyong realize it was stupid to worry. 

“I’d love to play. We have to eat first, so gather up the other boys and then after dinner, we can all play together, okay?”

While Jaemin and Hyuck gather up the rest of the kids, Taeyong tells Jaehyun their names. “These two are Mark and Lucas, Johnny’s boys. Both 7. That’s Xiaojun, one of Kun’s. Then the small one is Yangyang, Ten’s crazy little one. Where is Hendery? He’s also Kun’s, but I don’t see him.” Taeyong turns to Kun. “Hey, where’s your other kid?”

“Shit.” Kun, Taeyong, and Jaehyun spend the next 15 minutes trying to find Hendery.

They look everywhere. He’s not in the sand pit, he’s not on the play structure, and he’s not in the side yard. He has disappeared.

Jaehyun hears a quiet squeal and he’s drawn to the large tree in the corner of the yard. 

“Who are you?” Jaehyun looks up into the tree. There, sitting on a branch, almost in tears, is who Jaehyun assumes is the missing Hendery. 

“I’m Jaehyun. I am Mister Taeyong’s new friend. Do you need help?” 

Across the yard, it’s Johnny who points out the scene happening in the tree. The dad squad stands back in awe at Jaehyun.

Hendery pouts, “I don’t know you. Daddy said not to trust strangers.”

“How about I tell you about me so I’m not a stranger anymore? I am 24. I work in a library. I like coffee. I live alone. I used to have a cat, but he ran away. His name was Sir Fluffington. My favorite color is white. I was born on Valentine’s day so I always get lots of candy.”

“You’re silly.”

“Since you know me now, can I help you out of the tree?”

Hendery finally allows Jaehyun to help him, and when he’s safely back on the ground, he runs back to his dad and brags about how cool his ‘new friend Jaehyun’ is.

When Jaehyun rejoins the group to sit at the big picnic tables and have dinner, he looks at Taeyong. Taeyong’s eyes are sparkling and his lips are curved up in a small smile. 

At the dad table, Taeyong’s friends continue to question Jaehyun.

“So, you’re a librarian with a psych degree. Are you looking for a job or just laying low for a while?”

“I’ve had a few interviews, actually. They went well, and I’m waiting to hear back.”

“Nice!” Kun high fives Jaehyun. 

“Can I ask you guys some questions? You seem to know a lot about me already.”

Ten leans back in his chair. “Go ahead. We are open books.”

“All of you are single, right? How did you all end up as single dads?”

Ten tells his story first. “So I was 20 and in college. I had a girlfriend and accidentally got her pregnant. We agreed to raise him together, but after he was born, she took off in the middle of night, and I’ve been Yangyang’s only parent since.”

Johnny goes next. “I got married at 22 and she got pregnant 2 years later. After a few years, her and I just weren’t getting along. We got married because we thought we had to, but we weren’t really in love. She told me she wanted to go out and really figure out who she was, but I told her that if she left, I wouldn’t let her come back. She had to say goodbye to me and the kids forever. She agreed, we got a divorce, and I got the boys. Haven’t heard from her since.”

Jaehyun turns to Kun, waiting for his story.

Taeyong speaks up first. “Kun, you don’t have to…”

“No, it’s okay. Uh, I was dating this girl. I was going to propose, but she got pregnant and we kinda just put off the whole marriage thing since we were busy raising the twins. About 2 years ago, she was driving home from picking up dinner and never made it home. She was in an accident.”

“Oh my god, Kun…”

“It’s okay. I had already met Taeyong through the boy’s school, and he helped me get through it. It was nice having someone around who understood exactly what I was going through.” Kun bumps his shoulder with Taeyong’s. 

“All of us met through the school. We were all single dads and we just fit together.”

Jaehyun smiles at that. He likes Taeyong’s friends. “I have one more question. Yongie told me he’s bi, so I’m just curious if any of you are, too.”

Johnny bursts out laughing. “Yeah, we all are bi. Yongie is the first one to get serious with a guy though. Kun doesn’t really date, Ten has been fooling around with a guy at his office, and I’m focusing on work and my boys.”

“What do you do?”

“I am the CEO of a tech company. And in case you’re curious, Ten is a graphic designer, and Kun teaches kindergarten.” Jaehyun likes Johnny. He’s energetic, but not in an obnoxious way. He helps keep the conversation going, and Jaehyun can appreciate that. He’s not the greatest conversationalist.

After dinner, Jaehyun keeps his promise. He and Taeyong, and even the other 3 dads, join the kids for a game of hide and seek. The boys make Jaehyun seek first, and of course, Taeyong is the first person he finds. His spot wasn’t the greatest. Taeyong had crawled under the picnic table Jaehyun was standing right next to. 

The two of them work together to find the kids, and in the end, it’s Ten that is found last. He stuffed himself up in the tiny treehouse in the corner of the yard.

Since Taeyong was found first, he is the next seeker, so he turns around and starts counting while everyone else runs away to hide. He hears shuffling and laughing and as he finishes counting, some of the boys are still giggling, therefore giving away their hiding places. He tries to make it fun by walking past them a few times, only to come up and tickle them. He knows his boys love hide and seek, and it’s no fun to catch them right away.

He’s found everyone except Jeno and Jaehyun. 

“Okay where is my son?” Taeyong is starting to panic. He has scoured the whole backyard and can’t find Jeno anywhere. He’s less worried about Jaehyun, but he still can’t believe how well they’ve hidden.

“Uh, Taeyong…”

“What John?”

“Look up.”

Taeyong follows where Johnny is pointing. Jeno and Jaehyun are perched on top of the tree house, ducking down out of view.

“How the- What?! How did you guys get up there?”

Jeno laughs his little heart out. “Jaehyunnie is super strong! He lifted me up all by himself like a superhero!” 

Taeyong can’t help but smile at the two of them. Jaehyun has only just met them, but the kids are all in love with him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with another update! Here's a cute little meet the parents chapter :) I hope you're all enjoying the story so far!!

Taeyong has all 6 of his boys gathered on the couch. “Okay, I need you all on your best behavior tonight okay? Grandma and Grandpa are coming over and so is Jaehyun.”

“Yay! I like Mr. Jaehyun. Can we show him our bedrooms?” Donghyuck bounces up and down.

“I’m sure he would love to see your rooms. You can give him the whole tour. He hasn’t been here before.”

“Does he get to meet Grandma and Grandpa?”

“Yes, he’s staying for dinner.” Taeyong finds it adorable that the boys are all obsessed with Jaehyun. 

“Can he sleep over, too?”

“Yeah! It’s a friday and there is no school tomorrow.”

“Please, daddy?” With 6 pairs of puppy eyes pouting at him, it’s hard to say no.

“How about when Jaehyun gets here, you can ask him yourselves? I’m okay with it, but it’s up to him.” Taeyong is definitely okay with Jaehyun staying. His friends have all been a little busy with work, so he and Jaehyun haven’t had a date night in awhile. They see each other at the coffee shop, but other than that, the cookout a month ago was the last time they hung out. The four older boys turned 6 earlier in the month, but Jaehyun was visiting family and couldn’t make it. Taeyong misses hanging out with him.

Taeyong takes the boys upstairs to help them change into nicer clothes for dinner. He’s still helping Jisung when the front door opens. He knows it’s his parents since Jaehyun would have rung the doorbell. 

“Where are my cute little grandsons?” At the sound of their grandma, all the boys go running down the steps.

“Hi grandma! Hi grandpa!” Taeyong laughs to himself at the repetition of their greetings. They’re like little parrots.

He takes a deep breath before joining the chaos downstairs.

“Hey mom, hey dad.” He gives his parents a hug. It’s been a long time since he’s seen them. It’s hard for him to go visit with the boys. They get too antsy in the car.

“How have you been?”

“I’m good. They’re as crazy as always, but I’m dealing.”

“Is your friend here yet?” Taeyong had told them beforehand that in front of the boys, Jaehyun is just his friend. He wouldn’t have kept a secret like a new boyfriend from his parents. They’ve always been close.

“No, but he’s on his way.”

“We are very excited to meet him.” Taeyong leads his parents into the living room. They start with casual small talk, like how Taeyong’s job is going and how the boys are doing in school.

“So, did you guys get a hotel for the weekend, or do you want to crash on the couch? I’ve heard it’s very comfortable.”

“We got a hotel. It’s close though.”

Three soft knocks sound at the front door. Taeyong can see the excitement in his parents’ eyes. He’s talked about Jaehyun every time they call.

In order to not freak him out, Taeyong answers the door alone.

“Welcome to my house, Jaehyun. My parents and my kids are pretty much fighting for the title of ‘most excited to see Jaehyun’.”

“Are you not in the running?”

Taeyong smiles and gives his boyfriend a quick peck on the cheek. “I’m always extra happy when you’re around, Jae.”

Jaehyun takes off his shoes and then follows Taeyong into the living room. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Lee, it is very nice to finally meet you.”

“We are so glad you’re here! We have heard so much about you. Taeyong doesn’t stop talking about you.” Jaehyun smiles, especially when he glances over to see his boyfriend blushing.

Taeyong turns his head to the hallway, already hearing the parade of little boys heading their way. Before they enter the room, he’s yelling, “No running in the house!”

“Sorry daddy!”

“We just wanna see Mister Jaehyun.”

He shakes his head at them. 

Jaehyun grins ear to ear upon seeing the boys. He kneels down and politely greets each of them. Taeyong, as well as his parents, are all in awe at Jaehyun’s love for them.

“Mister Jaehyun, we have a question!” Unsurprisingly, it’s Donghyuck asking. He seems to be the most attached to Jaehyun, probably from their first accidental meeting at the park.

“What is it?”

“Will you stay here this weekend? Pretty please?”

“Is your dad okay with it?”

“Yeah! He said it’s okay!”

Jaehyun stands up and looks over to Taeyong. “In that case, of course I’ll stay this weekend. Maybe your dad will let me make my special breakfast ramen for you in the morning.”

The six boys erupt into cheers, making all the adults in the room laugh at their enthusiasm.

Once dinner is made and everyone is sitting around the table, Taeyong’s parents start the obligatory boyfriend questionnaire.

“So, Jaehyun, do you have any siblings?”

“No, I don’t, I’m an only child. Is Taeyong your only kid? He doesn’t seem as self-absorbed as an only child. Let me guess… Does he have a sister?”

Mrs. Lee almost spits out her wine. “How did you guess?”

“He’s a lot nicer. Any of my friends who have brothers are more aggressive. Taeyong is sweet and calm.”

“He has always been our sweet little boy.” Taeyong blushes at his mom’s words. “Taeyong’s sister is a few years older than him. She’s actually married! Speaking of,” She turns to Taeyong. “Did you get the invitation to their vow renewal this winter?”

“Yes, I did. I can’t believe they’re doing it in Japan. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with taking the 6 of them on a plane.” Taeyong lowers his voice even though he can tell the boys are having their own conversations. They don’t like listening to “boring grown-up stuff”.

“Then don’t take them.” Mr. Lee smirks, “I’m sure you have a babysitter. Just have them stay here for the long weekend and enjoy a nice vacation. You deserve it.”

“Thanks dad, but I’ll have to think about it. I’ve only ever spent one night away from them. It wasn’t even a full 24 hours.”

Jaehyun can sense that Taeyong is a bit uncomfortable talking about leaving the boys, so he changes the subject. “How about you tell me some embarrassing stories from when Taeyong was younger?”

Under the table, Taeyong squeezes Jae’s hand as a silent thank-you. 

“I have a good one.” Mr. Lee starts laughing before even starting the story. “When he was maybe 8 or 9 years old, our Taeyongie put on rollerblades and tried to also ride his scooter at the same time. He said he was going on an adventure, and came home less than 10 minutes later, completely in tears. Thankfully he was wearing a helmet, but his little hands and knees were all scraped up and he would not stop crying. We could barely make out that he was trying to tell us the neighbor’s dog started chasing him, and he tried running away but forgot he had rollerblades on, so he ended up falling. The poor kid wouldn’t touch that dog for a year, and I don’t think he ever went rollerblading again.”

“The neighbors felt so bad. Taeyong always loved playing with their dog, but he was too embarrassed to tell them what happened, so he just kept running away any time the dog was outside.”

Taeyong’s cheeks are red with embarrassment. “That was scarring. I still remember that happening. It took weeks for my knees to heal.”

“Aww, remember that one year our neighborhood decided to throw a Halloween party and Taeyongie stayed up all night the day before trying to figure out a costume?”

“He painted his face like a skull and ended up scaring the little kids. He felt so bad that he went around and gave them all candy to make them feel better.”

Jaehyun can’t help but laugh. “How old was he when he did that?”

“I think he was 16. His hair was dyed black and his sister yelled at him for ‘ruining such pretty hair’.”

Jaehyun fake gasps. “What?! Taeyong dyed his hair something other than brown? I’m shocked, scandalized, flabbergasted.”

“Jaehyun, stop! Don’t make fun of me.”

“I would love to see pictures. You’d be cute with black hair.”

“I am not letting you dye my hair black.”

Dinner continues on with Taeyong’s parents telling more young Taeyong stories. The boys started listening in. They haven’t heard a lot of the stories before.

Then, of course, Mr. and Mrs. Lee start asking more about Jaehyun. 

“Where do your parents live? Are they close to Seoul? Do you see them often?”

Jaehyun laughs a little. “They actually live in the States. I went to visit not too long ago, but it’s hard to find time to travel so far, especially while I was still in school.”

“That is understandable. Why do they live so far?”

“We moved there right after I was born, so I grew up there. I moved back here for college and decided to stick around.”

Their eyes go wide. “Oh, you grew up there? So do you speak English?”

“Yes, I do. I also speak a little bit of Japanese. My college roommate who I still live with is Japanese, and he started teaching me.” Even Taeyong is surprised at that. He doesn’t think Jaehyun has ever mentioned having a roommate before. When he thinks back, he did notice a second bedroom in Jae’s apartment.

“How cool is that!” Taeyong laughs at his mom’s enthusiasm. He’s glad his parents like Jaehyun.

Later that night, after Taeyong’s parents have gone to their hotel and the boys are in bed, Taeyong gets out a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“I’m glad you’re here.”

Jaehyun takes the wine and pours each of them a glass. “Me too. Your parents are nice. I hope I can meet your sister someday.”

“If I can get Johnny to watch the boys… You could come to Japan with me for her vow renewal.”

“Are you serious?! I would love to.”

“I’ll let her know. She really wants to meet you, so she’ll be excited.”

When they go up to bed, Taeyong loans Jaehyun some pajamas and can’t help but laugh at how tight the pants are. They get in bed and Taeyong pulls Jaehyun as close to him as possible.

“Did I know you have a roommate?”

“I don’t know if I ever mentioned him. His name is Yuta. He’s 26. Somehow we ended up as roommates when I was a freshman and he was a junior, and then we got an apartment together and have lived there since. I don’t fully understand what his job is, but he travels and writes about cultures and people and stuff. He has a boyfriend and they’re grossly into PDA.”

“Well, I’d love to meet him sometime.” Taeyong laughs. 

Jaehyun snuggles closer to Taeyong, starting to feel the tiredness overtake him.

“I’m glad you’re in my life, Jae.”

“Taeyongie, you’re making me cry. I’m glad too.”

“I-”

Jaehyun turns to face his boyfriend. “What is it?”

Taeyong blushes and tries to hide his face in the blanket.

“Tell me, Yongie.”

“I love you.”

Jaehyun smiles ear to ear, leans in, and gives him a little kiss. “Aww, Taeyongie, I love you, too.”


	9. Chapter 9

Taeyong is at the boy’s school. It’s a field trip day, so here he is, standing in their classroom with a few other parents. He’s glad the field trip isn’t an outdoor one. It’s starting to get a little closer outside.

Doyoung, the teacher, walks over to him. “So, I know you won’t like this, but our chaperone rules are that one parent can’t have more than 3 kids to themselves. Unless you have a friend who can come, the 3 not with you will be split up among other parents. We leave in 20 minutes.”

“I’ll call someone and see if they can come.”

Taeyong really wanted to be able to spend the day at the aquarium with all of his kids, not just 3. So, he calls Jaehyun. It’s been a few weeks since Jaehyun met Mr. and Mrs. Lee, and since then, he’s been spending a lot more time at Taeyong’s house. He’s over for dinner most nights, and the boys love having him around. Taeyong knows they wouldn’t mind Jaehyun tagging along for their school field trip.

“Jaehyun, please tell me you don’t have work today…”

“Nope, I’m free. Why? You sound panicked.”

“Can you come to the boy’s school? It’s a field trip day and in order to have all my boys with me, I need a second chaperone.”

“I’ll be there in 10 minutes.”

“Thank you so much! Love you.”

“Love you too.” After Taeyong said it for the first time, they couldn’t stop. 

The school bus arrives, and Taeyong doesn’t see Jaehyun yet, but then he catches a glimpse of his purple hair. 

Surprisingly, Jaehyun is talking with Sicheng, the teaching assistant. They seem to be talking quite comfortably. When Jae points at him and waves him over, Taeyong walks over to them.

“So you’re his boyfriend! I never would have guessed.” Sicheng smiles at Taeyong.

“How do you know Jaehyun?”

“I’m his roommate’s boyfriend. You and I have always just narrowly missed each other.” It’s true. The last two times Taeyong went to Jaehyun’s apartment, Yuta and his boyfriend had just left. Taeyong hasn’t even met Yuta yet. “Yuta is here, I should go find him. He always loves coming in to help out.”

Sicheng disappears for a minute.

“What a small world we live in. Your roommate is dating my kid’s teacher. Strange.”

Jaehyun laughs at that. “What kind of field trip is this? You never told me where we’re going.”

“The aquarium.”

“Jaehyunnie, long time no see! It’s been, what, an hour?” Someone who Taeyong guesses is Yuta runs over and practically body slams Jaehyun. It catches him off guard.

“Calm down Yuta. I believe you still haven’t met Taeyong.”

Yuta turns to face him and smiles brighter than the sun. “You’re so cute!” He doesn’t expect the hug, but it does make him laugh.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Yuta.”

“How do you have 6 kids, you look like you’re 20. Jaehyun, where did you meet someone this pretty? Only old people and kids trying to study go to the library.”

Taeyong can’t hold back his smile. “Thank you for that. I’m 29, and we met at Starbucks. He was making fun of my pink drink.”

“Jaehyunnie~,” Yuta places his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Pink drinks sting when they get thrown in your face, didn’t you know that? What if Taeyong wasn’t that nice?”

Taeyong likes Yuta. He’s very fun and outgoing.

“Okay, okay, stop making fun of Jaehyun. We have a field trip to get to.”

“Wait, I have a question…” Taeyong turns to Yuta. “How do you know that pink drinks sting?”

“That is an excellent question, Taeyong. Sicheng and I also had an interesting run-in at a Starbucks before we started dating. I may have made an inappropriate comment and he rightfully retaliated by throwing a drink in my face. But now he loves me.” Sicheng rolls his eyes, grabs Yuta’s hand and pulls him away. It really is time for them to leave now. The aquarium is about a half hour away, so they need to get going. 

When the bus pulls up, the teachers gather the kids and the chaperones around for some announcements.

Doyoung and Jungwoo stand on a picnic bench so that they have everyone’s attention.

“Chaperones have their designated 3 students to look after. If a small group of 2 or 3 chaperones wants to travel together, that’s okay, but any more than that might get a little too chaotic. For the first 2 hours, you will have free time. Take the students to see the exhibits they want. At 12:30, we have a meeting room reserved so the kids can eat lunch. Then from 1:30 to 3:30 we have scheduled some educational sessions where staff of the aquarium will take us on a tour to different areas and teach the kids about the different animals.” Doyoung ends his little speech with a smile.

“Does anyone have any questions?” Jungwoo looks to the kids and the parents.

Taeyong laughs to himself when Donghyuck is the only one to raise his little hand.

“Yes, Donghyuck?”

“Do we get to meet any animals?”

Doyoung smiles. “We might, but I don’t know! When we get a tour, they might bring out some animals for you guys to see.”

After that, they all disperse after handing out the wristbands to everyone.

Taeyong and Jaehyun take a second to talk to the boys before heading off to explore.

“What animals do you each want to see? I want all of you to get to pick something.”

“Jellyfish!”

“Whales.”

“I wanna see the otters.”

“Can we see the penguins?”

“Turtles!”

“I like starfish.”

Jaehyun also chimes in with, “Taeyongie, can we also go see the dolphins if there’s time?” This causes Taeyong to laugh and nod. So there are 7 things the group of them need to go see in the next 2 hours.

The 8 of them walk to the jellyfish exhibit first. The kids all ooo and ahh at the colorful little creatures. 

Jaehyun kneels down to their level. “Jellyfish aren’t actually fish. They don’t have a backbone. They also can barely move on their own. The water currents are what makes it look like they are swimming around. Their little tentacles sting their prey so that they can catch them and eat them easier.”

“Mister Jaehyun, you’re really smart!”

Taeyong coos from afar watching Jaehyun with the kids. He gets along so well with them.

Next, they move onto the starfish. The exhibit is pretty close to where the jellyfish were. The starfish tank is beautiful. The boys really love pointing out all the different kinds of starfish they see.

Again, Jaehyun sits with them and starts telling the boys some cool animal facts. “Some starfish species can have up to 40 arms! They can also get up to 35 years old. That’s older than your dad!”

“Wow, thanks Jaehyun…”

Little Jisung goes up to Jaehyun and tugs on his sweatshirt. “Mister Jaehyun?”

“Yes, what is it Jisung?”

“Can… Can I ride on your shoulders like that?” Jisung points across the room to where Johnny is carrying Mark on his shoulders.

“Of course! Turn around and I’ll lift you up, okay?” Jaehyun smiles at the little boy and then lifts him as he promised so that Jisung is sitting atop his shoulders. “Hang on tight! If you want to get down, just ask, okay?” Jisung smiles and nods.

“Daddy, look at me!” Taeyong looks up at his youngest son, who has the biggest smile on his face.

“Wow, you’re so tall Sungie!” Taeyong can’t help but look lovingly at Jaehyun.

Next, the gang all walks to the sea otter exhibit. There’s a group of 5 otters swimming around, and one of the signs says that one of them is still pretty young.

“There’s a little otter. Boys, look how small he is!” As they’re watching, they can see two aquarium workers step into the enclosure to start feeding the otters.

“Are they having lunch time?” Jeno looks up at his dad.

“Yeah, they are. Watch how they float on their backs and the trainers set the food on their bellies.”

“What are they eating?”

Jaehyun turns around to face them. “It looks like they’re feeding them scallops and clams. They really like seafood.”

The boys sit and watch the otters eat for a little bit, but then they have to move on so they can see all the animals they want before lunch time.

The penguins are next, and when the boys see them, they all smile so big. There are a lot of penguins.

“So, Jaehyun, what fun facts about penguins do you have for us today?” Taeyong turns to his boyfriend and smirks.

“These little African penguins only weigh up to 7 pounds. Even though they’re so small, penguin’s bones are what make them too heavy to fly. Normal birds have hollow bones, but penguin’s bones are solid. They also don’t chew their food, they just swallow the fish whole.” Jaehyun looks proud of himself for learning all these facts, and Taeyong thinks it’s cute that he wants to impress the boys. It’s definitely working. All 6 of them stare at Jaehyun with stars in their eyes. 

They watch as the penguins dive down into the water and swim around. They’re very fast for such little animals.

After the penguins, the group of them go to the biggest tank at the aquarium. It has a couple sea turtles, but mostly is full of different fish species, some larger manta rays, and even a few sharks. A turtle swims by the window and it’s absolutely huge; a lot bigger than Taeyong was expecting it to be.

“Green sea turtles are the largest hard-shelled turtle species. They can weigh up to 500 pounds! In the wild, when the females go to lay their eggs, they always return to the same beach, and can lay anywhere from 75 to 200 eggs.” Jaehyun looks up to where Jisung is still happily sitting on his shoulder. “The turtle is bigger than you! You’re probably as tall as he is long.”

Taeyong could spend his whole life watching as his boys point at all the fish in amazement. 

“Okay, let’s keep going! We don’t have a lot of time left before lunch, and we still need to see the whales and the dolphins.” Taeyong herds his kids to the next area of the aquarium.

The beluga whale tank is amazing. This is probably Taeyong’s favorite exhibit so far. The whales are so majestic, spinning around and playing with each other. They’re like a big family, and it reminds Taeyong of his own family. 

“Mister Jaehyun! Tell us about the whales!” Jaemin looks up at him. 

“Well, beluga whales are on the smaller side, but they can still be up to 15 feet long. They’re very social, which is why they’re all swimming together. They don’t have a dorsal fin like sharks and dolphins because if they did, they could get hurt on ice bergs or lose too much heat from their naturally cold habitat. They also make a lot of different sounds, more than most other sea creatures.”

“Wow~ Jaehyunnie is so smart.” Taeyong walks up behind him and pats him on the shoulder. 

“Oh, look at this sign!” Jaehyun points to one of the plaques in front of the tank. “One of the whales is off exhibit because she just had a baby!”

“Wow, their gestation period is 14-16 months… I can’t imagine.”

“What’s that mean, daddy?” Renjun asks Taeyong.

“That means the baby was in the mommy’s belly for almost a year and a half before it was born.”

Renjun’s eyebrows crease together. “How long were we in our mommy’s belly?”

“I think it was about 6 or 7 months. So that means the whale baby was in it’s mommy’s belly double the time you were!” Taeyong ruffles his son’s hair. 

As the kids all go back to watching the whales, Jaehyun turns to Taeyong. “I thought pregnancy lasts 9 months?”

“They were born very early, which is common with multiples. There were 4 of them, so they were even earlier. So early that we didn’t even know if we would be raising all 4 of them. Usually pregnancy is 40 weeks, and they were born at 28 or 29. They were so tiny and fragile. The twins were early too; I think around 35 weeks.”

Jaehyun’s eyes go wide at that. “Wow. That’s crazy…”

Taeyong takes a deep breath. Reminiscing about the boy’s birth always makes him nervous. Them being born that early was scary since it was unknown whether or not they were healthy enough to survive. He is so thankful that he got to raise all of them. These 6 boys are his whole world. Well… more like 7 boys.

“We should keep going so Jaehyunnie can see the dolphins. We need to head to the room for lunch soon.”

As they get close to the dolphin tank, Taeyong can see Jaehyun’s eyes light up.

“There’s so many!” They get right up to the glass to see the dolphins up close. A few even swim up to them. 

“Fact time!” Jaehyun laughs as the boys gather around to listen. “Dolphins each have a unique whistle. So just like all our voices sound different, so do theirs. They have no sense of smell. They can have up to 104 teeth. They often live in pods of up to 15 dolphins. That’s bigger than your family!” The boys love watching the dolphins. They’re very playful, swimming around the tank, chasing each other, and jumping out of the water. 

“Come on boys, it’s time to go eat lunch! Then we get to have a tour so you can see more animals.”

~

After lunch, 3 tour guides meet the class and start leading them around. Taeyong overheard them talking to Doyoung, and it sounds like they get to go meet a few of the penguins and take pictures with them. Then they’re also going to a dolphin training session. He can tell that his boys, as well as Jaehyun, are going to have a fun time.

When they get into the room, it’s empty. The kids all sit around in a half circle and wait patiently.

“Okay kids, we are about to bring in some very special guests! Please be very quiet so you don’t scare them.” The door opens again, and this time 2 little penguins waddle into the room.

Taeyong sees the excitement on his boy’s faces. It’s priceless.

“Let’s welcome Steve and Pebble. They are a mated pair, and they are currently raising an egg together. While we do take the egg into our care, we do give them a fake egg so that they can still practice sitting on it and caring for it. When it’s closer to the time of the egg hatching, we will put it back with them so that they will still think they hatched their own egg. They have raised quite a few chicks together, so we know they’ll be great parents. Do any of you have questions about our penguins?”

Some of the kids ask about how old they are and how fast they can swim, and to Taeyong’s surprise, Jaehyun raises his hand to ask something.

“Yes?”

Jaehyun smirks a little before asking, “Has there ever been a same-gendered pair of penguins?”

Taeyong wants to scold him, but one of the penguin caretakers lights up at the question. “Yes! We currently have a pair of males raising an egg together. It was only this season that we noticed them nesting together and courting one another for the first time. Another of our couples produced two fertilized eggs, so we decided to give Jae and Henry a chance with an egg. They’re doing very well taking care of the fake egg, so we are excited to see how they do with raising a chick.”

When they go back to answering the kid’s questions, Taeyong leans over and whispers in Jaehyun’s ear. “How do you feel about sharing a name with a gay penguin?”

“Best day ever.” Jaehyun smiles.

After the questions are answered, the kids get to group up and take pictures with the penguins. Taeyong’s boys are posing with the penguin couple. They all smile really big and it makes Taeyong’s heart do a flip. Those are his little boys.

The photographer asks if Taeyong and Jaehyun want one too, and before Jae can say anything, Taeyong is pulling him onto the stool to take their own picture with the cute little penguins.

Once everyone has had their photo taken, they move onto the dolphin training session. The class is led to a special pool. There are seats in front of it, so they all sit down, and then a gate is opened and 3 dolphins swim in.

Taeyong sees that Jaehyun is somehow much more excited about the dolphins than any of the kids are. 

“These are 3 of our bottlenose dolphins. Peggy, Hope, and Sea. Their trainers are going to show you some of their fun tricks. Dolphins are extremely playful animals, so we try to have lots of activities for them to do.”

The kids are all in awe as the dolphins do flips and make noises on command. They chase after beach balls and dive down through rings. 

At the end of the field trip, the class goes to the main lobby to pick up their penguin pictures. Doyoung and Jungwoo pass them out to everybody. Taeyong is given the one of his boys and the one of just him and Jaehyun.

“Awe, so cute.” Yuta randomly appears behind Taeyong.

“I know, my boys are just the best.”

“While they are adorable, I was talking about the other picture. I see a Christmas card.” With a wink, Yuta disappears into the crowd again. 

“Your roommate is very weird. But I do agree. We are pretty cute, aren’t we?” Taeyong shows the picture to Jaehyun.

“Yes, we are.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A longer chapter this time featuring Taeyong and Jaehyun going on vacation together! I hope you like it!
> 
> TW // mention of past character death

Taeyong and Jaehyun have been almost inseparable the last two months. Jaehyun stays over most weekends, and has become a regular at the dad squad cookouts.

They are about to leave for a long weekend in Japan for Taeyong’s sister’s vow renewal. It has taken lots of planning.

They leave tomorrow afternoon, so they are talking on the phone to finalize all the details. 

Taeyong twirls his wine glass between his fingers. “So.”

“So?”

“You said that Yuta can drive us to the airport friday morning?”

“Yes. We are picking you up from Johnny’s, right?”

“Yup. I am driving the boys over there in the morning. I will leave my car so that if there’s an emergency, there are enough car seats. Ten is also going to be there with Yangyang. They figured 2 adults can better handle 9 children rather than 1 adult handling 8.”

Jaehyun laughs. “So many kids. Are you happy to have a weekend away or are you nervous? I know you don’t like leaving them.”

“I’ll be fine.” Taeyong sighs. “I trust Johnny. He’s a good dad and I know the boys will be fine with him. I’m also glad that Ten will be there too, just so there is more supervision. We all joke that Ten struggles, but he’s also a really good dad. He’s done everything alone right from the start, so he deserves more credit than we often give him. I’ve just never been away from them for more than 24 hours.”

“You can always call if you’re missing them too much. Plus, you know they’ll have fun. It’s just a big sleepover for them.”

“You’re right. But I’m a dad, I can't help but worry.” Taeyong pauses to take a big sip of his wine.

“I can always distract you if you get too antsy.”

“I can hear your smirk through the phone, Jae. Calm down.” He can’t help but laugh. “I should get to bed. The boys will be extra hyper tomorrow morning, and I need more sleep if I’m going to properly deal with them.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then. I love you.”

“I love you too. Goodnight.”

Taeyong gets startled when he hangs up and sees Donghyuck poking his head around the corner. “Daddy?”

“Hyuckie, what are you doing up?” Taeyong sets his glass down and hurries over to his son. “Why are you crying buddy?”

“Had a bad dream.”

Taeyong lifts his son and walks back to the couch to cuddle him. “What happened?”

“I dreamed that daddy went away and didn’t come back like mommy.” Hearing that breaks Taeyong’s heart.

“You remember mommy?”

“Not a lot, but I remember you were sad and you told us mommy wasn’t going to come home. I don’t want daddy to go away like that.”

Taeyong hugs his son tighter. “Daddy will never leave you like that. Mommy was really sick and she didn’t get better. But I’m okay baby. I will be here to take you to school and make you yummy food and play dress up for a long, long time, okay?”

“Okay.” Donghyuck snuggles closer to Taeyong. “Who was daddy talking to? You said you love them.”

“You heard that?” Hyuck nods. “Well, daddy was talking to Jaehyun.”

“You love Mister Jaehyun?”

“I do. And he loves me, too. Is that okay?”

“Yeah! I love Mister Jaehyun too!” Taeyong smiles down at Hyuck. 

“You do?”

“Yeah. I like that he makes daddy smile.”

“Do your brothers also like Jaehyun?”

“Yeah. He’s really fun.”

Taeyong has thought a lot about what he’s about to say, so it doesn’t make him very nervous, especially after hearing that his boys like Jaehyun a lot. “Would you like it if Jaehyun lived here?”

Donghyuck’s eyes light up. “Mister Jaehyun is gunna live here?”

“I haven’t asked him yet, but maybe. I wanted to know if you would be okay with it.”

“Yes!”

“I’ll still ask your brothers about it, but I’m glad you like him. He does make daddy very happy. I’m really excited to go to see auntie with him.”

“Are you and Mister Jaehyun going to get married?”

Taeyong laughs a little. “You have lots of questions. Aren’t you tired?”

“I will go to sleep, but I wanna know! Do you wanna marry Mister Jaehyun?”

He thinks a little bit, but it’s not hard to come up with an answer. “Yeah, I think so.”

~

The next morning, Taeyong wakes up bright and early to start preparing breakfast for the boys. He still hasn’t forgotten his talk with Donghyuck last night, and he’s planning on asking the rest of them if they’d be okay with Jaehyun moving in. He’s agonized over it over text with Johnny for weeks, so it’s good progress that the plan is moving along nicely.

Once they’re all at the table eating, he grabs a plate and joins them.

“So, before we go to Mister Johnny’s house, there’s something I want to talk to you boys about.”

Before he can say another word, Taeyong is interrupted by Renjun yelling, “It wasn’t my fault, Jaemin pushed me first!”

“Wait, what?”

Renjun’s face goes red.

“What wasn’t your fault? What happened?”

Jaemin and Renjun both start talking at the same time, and they try yelling over each other, which just makes Taeyong even more frustrated.

“Everyone stop! You know I don’t like raising my voice, but this is unacceptable. Jaemin, did you push him?”

“Yeah, but it was an accident. I tripped over a pair of shoes and he thought I pushed him on purpose.” The boy is tearing up, so Taeyong turns to the other boy in question.

“What did you do after he accidentally pushed you?”

“I pushed him back.”

“And?” Taeyong gives him the disappointed dad stare. It works every time.

“And he fell and hit his head.”

Taeyong sighs. “When we get to Mister Johnny’s you are in timeout and if he makes dessert, you don’t get to have any.” He turns to Jaemin now. “Is your head okay?”

“It’s fine I don’t think there’s a bump.”

“I’ll look at it after we eat. Now, there actually is something important I wanted to ask you boys.” They all look at him expectantly. “How do you all feel about Mister Jaehyun?”

He’s met with a flurry of compliments about Jaehyun. It’s cute how much they all seem to like him.

“I’m glad. You boys know how we say I love you every night? And we say it because we care about each other and you’re all very important to me? Well, I also tell Mister Jaehyun that I love him. He makes me happy and he makes you boys happy. I wanted to ask if you boys would be okay with it if Mister Jaehyun lived here.” It took a while to get to asking, but he’s glad he did it, because they all answer with a chorus of yes’s. “You really like him?”

“Daddy?”

“What is it Jisungie?”

“Mister Jaehyun is really nice and funny. He’s like another daddy!” Hearing that even his shy little Jisung thinks of Jaehyun as another dad makes Taeyong’s heart flutter. It’s good he’s sitting because his knees are shaking nonstop. 

“Okay. Don’t tell him when we see him later, okay? It’s a secret. Daddy is going to ask him later.”

With that said and done, Taeyong takes a deep breath. He’s been holding all that in for so long. Now that his boys know what Jaehyun means to him, he’s happier than he could have thought possible.

~

At Johnny’s, there is chaos. Ten is chasing Yangyang around the house because the child stole a pair of very small underwear out of Ten’s bag. Johnny is cradling a sobbing Lucas in his arms since apparently, Yangyang had called him a ‘big stupid tree’ before running off.

Adding 6 more boys to that makes Taeyong a little glad he’s leaving.

He explains Renjun’s pushing incident to Johnny and informs him of the punishment. The other 5 are happily joining in the game of chase that Ten continues to play with his troublesome child.

“So, here are my keys. You have their doctor’s number and all the car seats. Please try to get them to bed at the normal time. If they want to video chat at any point, just text me first so I can let you know if I’m somewhere I can call. If not, I’ll at least try to call before they go to bed. If they act up, feel free to discipline them. I trust your judgement. Don’t let Ten teach them naughty words in other languages this time. I did not enjoy my kids running around calling each other and me a whore in Thai.”

“That was funny.”

“No! Johnny, please, no nonsense. I’m going away for the first time, I do not need anything more to worry about!”

“I’m joking. You know I’ll take good care of them. Ten and I will be just fine with them. We can always call Kun over if we need the extra set of hands.” At the sound of a car door, Taeyong perks up. “Go let him in.”

Taeyong meets Jaehyun on the porch.

“Yuta’s not coming to say hi?”

Jaehyun laughs. “He’s in a bad mood today. He and Sicheng were fighting last night. Sicheng asked about them potentially moving in together, but Yuta freaked out and got all weird about it. It made Sicheng think that he wanted to break up, so now he’s under instruction to ‘get his shit together before even thinking about calling’. I, sadly, was home when all of this fighting was happening.”

“Yikes. Well, at least we are escaping to a nice, relaxing, vacation. My sister can’t wait to meet you. It’s all she talks about.” They laugh together. “Do you need to come in for anything or should I just grab my stuff?”

“I’ll come in and say hi. I also need to use the bathroom before we go.”

Once they’re on the road, Taeyong can definitely feel the tension radiating off Yuta.

“You know, when something catches me off guard, I find it easier to talk it through with others rather than holding it all in. Other people may be able to help.”

“What?” Taeyong receives a death glare.

“Why were you so taken aback by Sicheng asking to move in together?”

A large sigh comes from the driver's seat. “We’ve been dating for a while, but I’ve never had such a serious relationship before. I’ve never lived with someone I’m dating. What if it makes me hate him? Or what if he hates me? What if we start fighting all the time?”

“Yuta, just relax. Take it one step at a time. Maybe, I don’t know, call Sicheng and tell him you feel this way so that the two of you can work out what to do together instead of separately sobbing, hoping for the other to call first. You just have to do it. It’ll be okay.”

“I don’t want to lose him, but talking about stuff is hard.” Yuta pouts.

Taeyong sighs. “I know it’s hard. I thought I would lose Jaehyun if I told him about my kids. But we talked about it, and when we were both comfortable, he met them and things are better than ever. No one is saying you and Sicheng have to move in together tomorrow, but letting him know that it’s something you will think about lets him know that the relationship is moving forward. No one wants to be in a relationship that stays in the same place.”

“Thanks. I guess I can call him on my way back. You give good advice.”

“I’m a dad, it’s in the job description. Plus, I’m making sure to practice the advice stuff on my friends before my boys grow up. I’d rather fuck up your lives than theirs.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Yuta drops them off at the departure door. “See you in a few days!”

Once they’re through security and waiting at the gate, Jaehyun starts to get antsy. “What if your sister doesn’t like me? I’ve never met her and I’ll be at her wedding. What if I get too drunk and make a fool of myself?”

“Jaehyun, deep breaths. My sister will love you. She personally invited you. It’s not even a full wedding, it’s just a vow renewal. And just don’t drink too much. We aren’t coming home until Monday afternoon, so we have a busy few days of sightseeing. We can’t be hungover and sick the whole weekend.” Taeyong laughs at Jaehyun’s nervousness. There’s no way his sister wouldn’t like Jaehyun. They share a very similar sense of humor, so he thinks they’ll get along well.

They board the plane smoothly and the flight is just under 2 hours to Osaka, Japan. From there, they have to take a train and a bus to Nara, which is the city where the ceremony is taking place. Taeyong was the one who helped his sister find the location. It’s Yoshiki-en Garden. Since the ceremony is super small, only around 30 guests, it will be happening in the tea house that is within the gardens. Then they’ll be holding the reception in the hotel that they’re staying at. It is December, but the weather is supposed to be really nice this weekend.

When they land, they go right to the hotel to drop off their bags. 

“That bus ride was so slow. I don’t want to be late.” Taeyong starts pacing the room.

“It’s okay, we’ll be on time. Just stop pacing and go get changed. Are you showering?”

Taeyong nods. “Wanna join me?” He throws a wink to Jaehyun.

“You’re bold today.”

“You like it.”

“Yeah, I guess I do.”

The two shower together, only taking slightly longer than they should have, but they get dressed and are in a cab to Yoshiki-en Garden in no time.

“Did I tell you I’m in the ceremony? You’ll have to sit alone…”

“Are you a groomsman or whatever?”

Taeyong laughs, “Not exactly. So, my sister and I are the only two kids in our family, and her fiance just has an older sister, so I am my sister’s Man of Honor, and her fiance’s sister is his Best Maid. They did the big wedding party the first time, so it’s pretty casual this time.”

“That’s really cute. Do we at least get to sit together at dinner?”

“Yep. You’re stuck with me after the ceremony. I think my mom also mentioned the two families getting together for breakfast in the morning, too. Then you and I can head off to do whatever we want for the next two and a half days.”

They get to the garden and there are signs pointing to the wedding at the tea house. 

When they walk up, Taeyong’s mom comes over to hug them both. “You’re here! Your sister is asking for you. Jaehyun, you can go too. I know she’s been waiting to meet you.”

Taeyong and Jaehyun are led to a little side room and after knocking, they are let right in.

“Taeyongie! I’ve missed you so much.” His older sister is already in her dress. It’s absolutely stunning.

“Mom said you’ve been asking for me?”

“Oh, yeah! I forgot to ask you, and you don’t have to say yes, but would you be willing to sing something at the reception?”

“You want me to sing?”

“Please? When we were younger, don’t you remember how I would have nightmares and crawl into your bed, and you would start singing me to sleep.”

“For you, of course I’ll do it.”

The siblings hug, and only then does Taeyong’s sister see Jaehyun standing there.

“Oh! You must be Jaehyun! I’m Taehee. I’ve heard so much about you!”

He can barely react before he’s pulled into a hug.

“Wow, mom wasn’t lying, you really are handsome!”

Jaehyun blushes. “Thank you. You look beautiful. Your dress is amazing.”

The compliment makes her smile grow even bigger.

“Taeyongie, how haven’t you let me meet him yet?”

“I’m sorry that I have kids to take care of 24/7. Video chatting with my sister to introduce my boyfriend wasn’t something I had time to think about.” He rolls his eyes. 

“How are my nephews? I haven’t seen them in so long.”

“They’re good. I’m starting to think they like Jaehyun more than they like me.”

“Well, duh.”

“Hey!” 

There’s a shrill screech from Taehee. “You can’t hit your sister on her wedding day!”

Jaehyun finds their antics funny. He didn’t grow up with a sibling, so he never had anyone to goof off with.

“Jaehyunie, if Taeyong is ever getting too serious or too annoying, he’s really ticklish.”

“I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

With a signal from Taeyong’s mom, Jaehyun goes back into the main room to take his seat. The ceremony is just about ready to start. The Best Maid joins Taeyong and his sister in the room, and then the music starts.

They have Taehee’s husband’s niece as the flower girl.

After the little girl walks down the aisle, the groom’s sister walks down to stand next to him at the end of the aisle. Next is Taeyong. He spots Jaehyun off to the left in one of the front rows. They exchange a little smile.

When Taeyong is at the front, he turns to face the aisle. His dad begins walking his sister down the aisle. Now, she has on her sparkling shoes and a veil is draped over her head. Taeyong can tell that she is only looking at her husband. He’s only met the guy a few times, but Taeyong likes him. He can see that his sister is really in love. He’s happy their marriage has been going so well.

The ceremony goes smoothly, and when they kiss, the little tea house erupts with applause.

People disperse to head to the hotel for the little reception. There are more people invited since the hotel can hold more people than the little tea house. Taeyong and Jaehyun hang back and wait for his family.

“Congratulations!” Taeyong starts ruffling his sister’s hair and being generally annoying like a little sibling.

The two families share a limo back to the hotel.

Taeyong can see the questioning looks given to him and Jaehyun holding hands, but he pays no attention. It’s Taehee’s husband’s parents, but Taeyong simply ignores it. He knows that her husband is okay with Taeyong being gay, and that’s all that matters to him. 

Jaehyun notices too. He gives Taeyongs hand a comforting squeeze.

When they get to the hotel, they go right into the reception hall. There are a lot more people here than there were at the ceremony. 

They serve dinner first, and then it’s the first dance for Taehee and her husband. Before the actual party starts, Taehee makes an announcement.

“Hello everyone. Thank you for coming. Before we get to the dancing part of the evening, my younger brother has agreed to sing something for me. When we were younger, he would sing to me if I had a nightmare. I haven’t heard him sing in a long time, but I miss it, so I asked if he would sing for me. So, Lee Taeyong, would you come and do the honor?” She looks over to Taeyong, smiling brightly.

He goes to the front of the reception hall and receives the microphone from his sister. To calm his nerves, he looks at Jaehyun the whole time.

The song is beautiful. Jaehyun has never heard him sing before, and he’s quite shocked. Taeyong has a lovely voice.

When he finishes the song, his sister runs back up and hugs him. Then, the party continues on.

~

“You have a beautiful voice, Taeyongie. I can’t believe you’ve never sang for me before.” Jaehyun and Taeyong are back in their room. They left a little early since they have a full weekend of sightseeing ahead of them. Taehee thanked Taeyong for singing, and she gave Jaehyun another hug, saying she was glad she finally got to meet him.

“Don’t get used to it. I don’t sing that often.”

“Why not?”

Taeyong stays silent.

“Taeyong?

“When the boy’s mom was sick, she would always ask me to sing for her to help her fall asleep. The day she died, my parents had come to town and they stayed to watch the boys so I could visit her at the hospital. When I got there, the doctors told me she had gone downhill fast overnight and most likely wouldn’t survive much longer.” Taeyong pauses to take a deep breath. Tears are threatening to spill from his eyes. “They let me into her room to say goodbye, and when I walked in, she was awake. She asked me if I would sing her to sleep. She felt tired and like she wanted to close her eyes, but she was scared. She didn’t want to close her eyes because she knew how sick she was. I sang her favorite song, and I watched as she closed her eyes. She was asleep for a little while, and I kept singing softly so she would sleep calmly. By the time I finished the song, she was gone.”

“Taeyong…”

“After that, I just got too emotional whenever I sang. All I could remember was the look on her face as she fell asleep.”

“Why did your sister ask you to sing then?”

“No one else knows that story. I was too sad to tell it, so I always just said I was there when she died.”

“Is there anything I can do to help you feel better right now? I can’t say I understand or that it’s okay, because I don’t know how it feels. But I want to be here for you. We can go home if you need to. I can change our flights.” Jaehyun takes Taeyong’s hands in his own.

“Can you hold me? I don’t want to go home, but I think I just need to go to sleep.”

Jaehyun nods. “I can do that. Let’s get changed first, okay?”

Taeyong is grateful that Jaehyun is in his life. He’s never had someone who understands him like this. 

They end up showering together again, but this time it’s peaceful. Jaehyun takes his time washing Taeyong’s hair and he gives him a soothing back rub. It helps calm Taeyong down, and once they’re in their pajamas, Jaehyun pulls him into bed and cuddles him close.

“Goodnight Taeyongie. I love you.”

“Wait! I forgot to call Johnny to check in.”

“Hey hey, deep breaths.” Jaehyun smooths down his boyfriend’s hair. “Don’t worry. I texted him before we showered and he said the boys are all fine. They had a movie night and all the kids pretty much fell asleep right away. He said you can call in the morning if you want to, but everyone is okay and there’s nothing to worry about.”

Taeyong visibly settles down, sinking further into the mattress. “What would I do without you? Thank you. I know tonight wasn’t really how I thought we’d spend our vacation, but-”

“No need to apologize. It’s okay. It happens. Let’s sleep, okay?” 

~

In the morning, before the two go to breakfast with Taeyong’s family, Taeyong and Jaehyun call Johnny quickly and say hi to the kids. They are just fine, but Taeyong still misses them. 

They are spending today in Nara, and then leaving for Kyoto tonight, and they’ll spend the next day and a half sightseeing there and then fly home.

At breakfast, Taeyong and Jaehyun still receive dirty looks from Taehee’s husband’s parents. Taeyong also notices that Taehee’s husband shoots them a warning glare, and after that, it stops.

The breakfast is thankfully uneventful. 

“How are the boys doing, Taeyong? I feel bad we haven’t visited in a while. We’ll have to do that soon.”

“They’re really good. This weekend should be fun for them, getting to stay with their friends.”

“How old are they now?” It’s his sister’s husband who asks.

“The older ones are 6 and the younger ones are 4. They’re growing up too fast.”

It’s pleasant conversation. He’s just glad for no drama. That’s the last thing he needs right now.

Taeyong and Jaehyun leave first. “We are staying until Monday, and we have a lot planned, so we should probably head out. How much should I leave for the bill?”

Taeyong’s dad, who rarely ever speaks, shakes his head and smiles. “We’ve got it, son. Go have fun.”

“Can I call you on Tuesday when I’m home?”

“Sure… What about?”

Taeyong shakes his head. “Ah, nothing important right now.” With an out-of-sight-from-Jaehyun wink, his mom smiles and waves them off.

“Okay. You kids have fun.”

Once they’re out of the restaurant, Jaehyun tries asking what that was about, but Taeyong brushes it off. It is a surprise, after all.

~

They spend their day in Nara well. They visit a few temples, walk around some shopping areas, and even go to the park to feed the deer. Jaehyun takes pictures the whole time because the deer won’t stop following Taeyong around.

“You must be part Disney princess.” Jaehyun snaps another picture.

“Are you my prince charming, then?”

“Wow, that was smooth,” Jaehyun leans in for a kiss, and Taeyong, being the tease he is, runs away. This starts a small game of chase between the two, and it ends in Jaehyun capturing Taeyong by the waist.

“We’re in public.”

“That will not stop me, Lee Taeyong.” After a long and sweet kiss, the two seek out a restaurant for an early dinner. They still have to catch a train back to Kyoto tonight.

The place they eat is a small ramen restaurant. There are a couple cats walking around, and apparently the shop owners just let them hang around. It was an accidental adoption. Nevertheless, the food is amazing, and Taeyong and Jaehyun are sad to go. They’re one day closer to the end of their vacation.

They have to wait 30 minutes for the next train, but the station has comfortable seating, so they don’t mind. The Kyoto hotel is already booked. There’s nothing else to worry about.

Right after boarding the train, Jaehyun’s phone rings.

“I don’t recognize this number. Should I answer it?”

“Go ahead. We’re on a train, there’s not much else to do.” Taeyong shrugs.

Jaehyun talks quietly, and the phone call appears to be something important if the look on Jae’s face means anything. He can barely contain his smile, so when he hangs up, Taeyong is quick to ask him about it.

“What was it?”

Jaehyun takes a deep breath. “I just got my dream job.” His eyes are lit up like the moon. “I’m going to be a professor.”

“That’s amazing! Congratulations. I didn’t even know that’s what you wanted to do.”

“At first, it wasn’t, but after going to interviews, I realized the other types of things I was looking into didn’t interest me. I went to school for psychology and I wanted to have a job where I was helping people. If I’m teaching, maybe I’m helping someone realize their passion for the field, or maybe I’m inspiring a kid to continue on and learn about how their own mind works. I started interviewing at junior colleges, and there are quite a few in Seoul that have been expanding their psych departments. I just can’t believe it happened so quick.”

Taeyong scoots himself closer to Jaehyun. “How could they not pick you? You’re the greatest.” With a quick peck on the cheek, Taeyong cuddles himself into Jaehyun, resting his head on his boyfriend’s shoulder. Their train ride has about an hour left, so he has time for a nap.

~

When they wake up the next morning, Taeyong is in a great mood. After getting to their hotel in Kyoto, they were so tired that they pretty much fell into bed. It wasn’t even that late, but their day was exhausting. A good night’s sleep solved it all; well, for Taeyong.

It takes him about 20 minutes to wake Jaehyun up, and what does it is a nice slap to his boyfriend’s ass.

“What the-! Wow, nice. Thanks for that.”

“I called your name like 10 times. We have plans, you need to get up.”

Their day in Kyoto is just as eventful as their previous days. Jaehyun’s feet start to hurt, but Taeyong claims he’s used to it since he spends all his time at home chasing around his 6 kids.

“Guess I’ll get used to it eventually.” The comment makes Taeyong smile. Jaehyun wants to stick around. It only makes him more excited to ask him to move in.

Taeyong had also secretly been texting with Yuta. Yuta and Sicheng made up and were going to look for a new apartment since they did want to force Jaehyun into having another roommate. When Taeyong told Yuta about his plan to ask Jae about living together, Yuta was so excited and claimed he knows for a fact that Jaehyun will say yes. And with Jaehyun most likely moving out, Yuta and Sicheng can simply have the apartment. 

The only thing left to do is ask Jaehyun, but their day is so busy that he doesn’t get around to it. They walk through the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine, visit a few temples, and even participate in a traditional tea ceremony. The two also visit a hot spring, and it really helps Jaehyun relax and soothe his aching muscles. 

On their last day in Japan, Taeyong planned a cute little brunch before they have to go to the airport.

He called a place ahead of time and reserved their special rooftop table.

“Taeyong, this is beautiful.”

“You have planned most of our dates, and I felt like I needed to step my game up. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t try to woo you sometimes?”

“I’d love you all the same. You have enough on your plate. But I do appreciate this. A nice peaceful end to a very fun vacation.”

Taeyong holds Jaehyun’s hand across the table. “I’m glad you came with me. It wouldn’t have been the same if I was alone.”

“If only we could stay for more than a weekend. I feel like even though we saw so much, there’s a million more things to see.”

“Maybe someday.” There’s a hopeful glint in Taeyong’s eyes, as if he’s saying that in the future, he and Jaehyun will be able to travel to wherever they want to. Once the boys are older and don’t need such obsessive babysitting, it will give Taeyong the freedom to see the beauties of the world.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was one of my favorite chapters to write, by far. It's just so cute!! I hope you all enjoy it too. Please feel free to comment and give a kudos. I really love hearing that people like the story. <3

Jaehyun and Taeyong get home from their trip pretty late at night. Their flight had been delayed because of a storm, and then Yuta was late picking them up from the airport. Johnny said he’d keep the kids one more night so Taeyong could get a good night’s sleep before having the chaos returned.

Jaehyun opts to stay at Taeyong’s house instead of going home with Yuta.

They crack open a bottle of wine and put on a sappy romance movie. They’re cuddling on the couch, Taeyong’s head resting on Jaehyun’s shoulder.

“Why do you have so much wine?”

“Because I’m a single dad. I also am part of a wine club, so I get sent three bottles every month.”

“A wine club?”

“Yep. I try not to drink alone, but sometimes after a long day, a nice glass of wine and a movie really helps me wind down. I usually bring them to the dad dinners.”

They go to bed earlier than they normally would, but they did just get home from vacation. They’re had a couple very long days, and sleep is much needed.

In the morning, Taeyong makes them breakfast. Johnny said he and Ten will drop the kids off at school and then bring Taeyong his van.

“I don’t want to go home and unpack. It’s so far away.” Jaehyun is pouting on the couch. He and Taeyong have been having such a nice morning together. It makes him want this every morning.

“What if you unpack here?” Taeyong has been waiting weeks to ask, and he figures now is as good a time as any.

“Then some of my stuff would be here?”

“Well… what if your stuff was here?” He tries to raise his eyebrow at Jaehyun to get him to understand, but Jae isn’t paying him much attention.

“Then I’d just be going back and forth all the time and that doesn’t really make sense.”

Okay. That’s it. “What if you move in with me and learn to understand when I’m hinting at you??”

That gets Jaehyun’s attention.

“You want me to move in?”

“Yes.”

“What about the boys?”

“I asked them if they would want you to live here and I was met with different versions of the words yes, they’d love it.”

“So… I’m really going to move in?”

“If you want to, yeah.”

Jaehyun’s dimples pop out with his smile. “Of course I’ll move in! Oh my god, Taeyongie! We’re going to live together.”

They celebrate in their own intimate way, and when it comes time to pick up the boys from school, Jaehyun tags along so they can tell the boys together.

Upon hearing the news that Mister Jaehyun will be living with them, they boys start yelling and shouting with excitement. They seem happier than Taeyong and Jaehyun.

That weekend, Johnny watches the boys for the afternoon while Taeyong and Jaehyun pack up Jae’s stuff and move it into Taeyong’s house. There was plenty of closet room since Taeyong is a simple man. Being a recent college graduate still living with a roommate, Jaehyun didn’t necessarily have a lot of stuff, so unpacking wasn’t a huge ordeal. 

When the boys get home, it’s just before dinner time.

Jaehyun is helping Taeyong cook dinner while the boys sit around the table.

“Mister Jaehyun, can I ask you a question?” Donghyuck looks over expectantly at Jaehyun.

“Of course you can.” He looks up from where he’s cutting vegetables.

“Do you love daddy?” The question makes Taeyong almost spill the pot of water.

“I do love him. Is that okay?”

“Yeah! Daddy loves you too.”

Jaehyun can’t help but nudge Taeyong teasingly. It’s cute that he’s talked to the boys about how he loves Jaehyun.

During dinner, the boys keep asking Jaehyun questions.

“Do you have a job?”

“I just got a new job. I’m going to be a teacher.”

“That’s cool.” Renjun smiles, but quickly resumes eating his dinner.

It’s a casual dinner, and Taeyong is happy that his boys have accepted Jaehyun so easily into their lives. It means the world to him.

_1/18/21 - A New Housemate_

_Hello everyone! I’ve got an exciting announcement to make. The person I’ve been dating for the past few months has moved in with me and the boys. I know some people might be judgemental about bringing a new person into my home, but this really felt like the right thing for us. The boys absolutely love my new partner, and they were even more excited than I was about them moving in._

_It will take some getting used to, but I am happy this was able to work out. For those wondering, my family has met my partner, and they are 100% supportive. We have even recently gone on a vacation together._

_I was nervous getting into a new relationship, especially with my boys being so young, but I am so glad I took the risk those months ago. I’m happier than I could have imagined._

_-Taeyong_

~

The months pass peacefully. Jaehyun started his new job and absolutely loves it. The twins turned 5. Taeyong’s blog took off even more since he’s been opening up a bit more. He usually kept it pretty professional, talking about things that made parenting easier, or talking about experiences that others could relate to. Now, he’s been getting more personal, talking of his relationship and how Jae lives with him now. 

The dad squad meets up every other weekend, just like usual. Jaehyun is a regular now, and even the other kids all love that Jaehyun is around. He’s become quite the favorite.

Taeyong and Jaehyun’s 1st anniversary was about a month ago. Johnny watched the boys, and the two went to the rose garden from one of their first dates.The whole night was so romantic, and no one had to leave early this time. They were able to fully enjoy the roses.

Taeyong is getting his jacket on and walks around the house trying to find his keys.

“Jaehyun, I’m going to go grocery shopping, and I really don’t feel like parading everyone around…” Jae has gotten used to this pouty face.

“Just go you dork. I can watch the boys. I’ve done it before. I don’t object to you having some alone time, you know that.”

“Thank you. I’ll try to be less than two hours.”

“Take your time babe. I love you.” With a kiss on the cheek, Jaehyun sends Taeyong off.

He has been waiting for Taeyong to leave. He has something to discuss with the boys, and he knows Taeyong would be lurking if he tried to talk to them while Tae was home.

Jaehyun texts Johnny quickly. 

**Jae-** hes getting groceries… im going to ask the boys

**John-** yes!!! so exciting :))))

**Jae-** dont do that its creepy

Jaehyun gathers the boys in the living room.

“So, your daddy and I have loved each other for a little over a year now. You know how your auntie is married to your uncle? Would you be okay with me asking your daddy to marry me?” Jaehyun has been wanting to ask for months, but he thought that before proposing, he wanted to check with the boys. They are a huge part of Taeyong’s life, and even though they’re young, their opinion is very meaningful.

Donghyuck is unsurprisingly the first one to speak up. “Yes! Do it! You have to marry daddy.” The other boys nod along with Hyuck’s words.

“Daddy loves you so he will want to marry you.” Renjun is very sure of himself.

“When are you getting married?” Jeno’s head tilts like a puppy.

“I have to ask him to marry me first. Then we will decide when.”

Chenle loudly chimes in. “When are you asking daddy?”

“This weekend. I’m going to take him on a date. We are going to act like we are going to Mister Johnny’s for dinner like normal, but only you boys are going to stay. I am going to take your daddy somewhere special and ask him. You can’t tell him, okay? It’s a super secret surprise.” Jaehyun can’t hold back his smile.

The boys love keeping secrets from their dad. A couple times, Jaehyun had planned small surprises for Taeyong, and he told the boys. He was pretty much testing them to see if he’d be able to ask them about proposing to Taeyong without them spilling the secret.

After the boys go play, he texts Johnny again.

**Jae-** they said they’re okay with it!! you remember the plan for this weekend?

**John-** i knew they’d say yes they really love you jae. and yes, we will have a fancy dinner this weekend so he’s non suspicious about you guys dressing up. you drop the boys here and take him to your secret special location where yuta and sicheng will have set up the little picnic. you’ll propose, he’ll say yes, you’ll celebrate, and then go home just the two of you to celebrate in other ways. then you’ll come over for dad dinner the next night so we can all celebrate.

**Jae-** thank you so much for helping me with this

**John-** ive known taeyong for years. he’s my best friend, and i can see how happy you make him. he deserves the best. the picture of the rings you sent is perfect. he will love it

**Jae-** im so excited i can barely contain it. this weekend needs to come fast

~

The week goes by so slow for Jaehyun. But Friday finally comes, and Taeyong suspects nothing when Johnny calls to say they’re having a fancy dinner, so everyone needs to dress up. He also doesn’t question Johnny mentioning packing a bag with extra clothes for the boys so they don’t ruin their nice clothes by playing outside in them. Taeyong thinks it’s all normal.

Jaehyun asking to drive throws him off the most.

“You had to run around dressing them. At least let me drive so you can relax for a little bit.” The reasoning makes sense, so Taeyong just does as Jae suggests and he relaxes.

When they pull up, Johnny walks to the car and grabs the boy’s bag from the back.

“Have fun.” Johnny winks.

The boys all get out and run inside, and Taeyong is just confused. “Why did you lock me in? Why aren’t we getting out?”

“Johnny’s babysitting. We haven’t had a date night in a while, and it’s not like this is the first dad squad dinner you’ll have missed.”

Taeyong shakes his head, but ultimately goes along with it. He’s a bit too tired to question Jaehyun further.

When Jaehyun parks, Taeyong finally speaks his thoughts. “Why are we at the park? Jaehyun, seriously, you’re acting weird. What is this?”

“Just let go, Taeyongie. Have fun. Be spontaneous. Come on.” Jaehyun smirks and drags Taeyong along with him.

When they come upon the picnic, Taeyong is so shocked he can’t speak.”Happy anniversary Taeyongie.”

“What?” Taeyong reluctantly turns away from the picnic. “Jae, our anniversary was a month ago. We celebrated…”

“Wrong anniversary. One year ago today, you brought me to this very park and told me about your boys. You were nervous because you thought I’d walk away. Honestly, part of me was scared when you told me. I wasn’t sure when I was getting into, but staying was the best decision I have ever made. Taeyong, you and your boys are my whole life. I love you.” Jaehyun pauses. He walks Taeyong a little closer to the table so he can pick up the little box.

“Jaehyun…”

“Usually, a man asks the parents for permission to propose to their child, but I asked someone more important. Well, 6 someones. I wanted to check with them to make sure they really do feel okay with all this. They gave me a collectively written letter a few days ago that said ‘Daddy and Jaehyunnie love each other. Junie, Nana, Jenjen, Hyuckie, Lele, and Sungie love daddy and Jaehyunnie. We like our big family and we want Jaehyunnie to be part of it,’ I don’t think I’ve cried that hard in a long time. So, Taeyongie?”

“Jung Jaehyun, please just ask already!” Taeyong is crying and smiling simultaneously.

“I’ve got a little more. Man, can’t a guy propose peacefully?” They laugh together. Jaehyun now gets down on one knee. “Taeyongie. I would love to be part of your family. I love you and I love your boys. I have never felt happier than when I’m with you. Even if we are just laying together watching horrible romance movies with a bottle of wine. I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend the rest of my life. Lee Taeyong, will you marry me?” He presents the ring.

“Finally. Yes! Jaehyun, yes, of course.” Taeyong pulls Jaehyun up from the grass and all but smashes their lips together. “I love you so much.”

Jaehyun takes out the ring and puts it on Taeyong. “I got a pair of them. It’s totally not fair that the one proposing doesn’t usually wear a ring. I’m engaged too.”

“You’re so silly.” Taeyong looks down at the remaining ring in the box. “Shall I put yours on you?” They can’t stop giggling as the matching ring is placed on Jae’s finger.

“I love you.”

“I love you too. God, I love you so much.”

Taeyong and Jaehyun finally sit down at their picnic and eat the food that was prepared. There are two full baskets of food, a bottle of champagne, and some cute chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. 

“Did Kun cook all this?”

“What, you don’t think I could?” Jaehyun acts hurt, but he can see Taeyong doesn’t buy it. “Yes, he did. But the champagne and strawberries are from Yuta and Sicheng. They set this up.”

“How long have you been planning this?”

“A few months. Well, I got the rings a few months ago. Yuta was holding onto them. I couldn’t risk you or the boys finding them. And Johnny helped me plan most of it. Kun was brought it later when I realized that getting food from all different places would probably look weird.”

“So… you had them set up the picnic, with the rings here, and then leave them unattended?”

“No. They’re right over there.” Jae points a little ways down the path to where two lumps are laying on the ground. “I didn’t ask them to take pictures, but they probably did.”

Taeyong laughs at that. He’s really scored a keeper.

“I can’t believe all of them knew about it. Kun is horrible at keeping secrets.”

“Yeah, that’s why we asked him so last minute. He’s only known for about a week and a half. I talked to the boys while you were grocery shopping this week. It’s been fun, but I’m glad I don’t have to plan any more.”

They finish eating and head back to the car. “Oh, by the way, the boys are staying at Johnny’s tonight. We will have the house to ourselves all night. Tomorrow night is make-up dad squad dinner.”

“You really went all out.”

“You deserve the best Taeyongie.”


	12. Chapter 12

The night after the proposal, there’s a redo dinner party. To make it more of a party, they invite Yuta and Sicheng, as well as Doyoung and Jungwoo. Though they’re the boy’s teachers, they have gotten closer as friends.

“Welcome everyone! Dinner is almost ready. Feel free to grab a drink from the cooler. We have juice boxes, or I also can put on some coffee.” Johnny is a good host. The dad cookouts are always here for a reason.

The kids all go and play, leaving Johnny, Ten, Kun, Taeyong, Jaehyun, Yuta, Sicheng, Jungwoo, and Doyoung to sit around the patio and chat.

“I can’t believe you two are engaged. You’re so cute together.” Doyoung motions to the two of them. Jaehyun is sitting in a chair, but Taeyong is perched in his lap as if he owns it.

“Yes, we are cute, but what about those two?” Taeyong looks are Johnny and Ten.

“What?” Kun, and everyone except Taeyong, are extremely confused.

“Johnny and Ten. They’ve been dating for weeks, did none of you notice?”

“How did you know?? We didn’t want anyone to know yet…” Ten pouts.

“Oh come on, you aren’t subtle at all. I literally saw you kiss two weeks ago at our cookout. Kun was chasing the boys, I was inside washing up, and these two were left alone on the patio. I was about to walk out, but I caught them kissing so I waited a few minutes to come back outside. It’s been so obvious. Even tonight! Johnny always cooks solo. Whenever someone tries going near the grill, he freaks out and makes them leave. But who was hovering and making faces at him the whole time without getting scolded?? Exhibit Ten!”

Johnny just laughs in defeat. “Damn, you caught us…”

“The pros of having six kids. I notice everything.”

Kun snorts. “Do you notice your youngest child about to jump off the playset into the sand box?”

“Shit-” Taeyong bolts up from his place on Jaehyun’s lap and runs off to stop Jisung.

“So, Jae, you’re really ready to commit to 6 children?”

“I know it’s a big step, but I love Taeyong, and I love his kids. I really want this.”

“Well, congrats, dude.”

~

Dinner goes smoothly. Everyone has fun, and no more children try doing anything stupid and dangerous.

They have a fun night. The boys all go inside to play, so Johnny breaks out some wine and everyone just talks.

Yuta makes an off-handed comment about Jaehyun becoming a dad, but the dad squad are quick to jump in.

“Hey, he’s been a great caretaker when Taeyong has stuff to do.”

“Yeah, and all of us were dads at a much younger age.”

Yuta puts his hands up in defeat. “I forgot who I was surrounded by.”

“Sicheng, do you want kids?” The question is unexpected, especially coming from Jungwoo, who has been pretty quiet the whole night.

“I think so. I know adopting is always an option, but it just depends on a lot of other stuff.”

“You mean it depends on Yuta growing some tits and proposing at some point?” Everyone bursts out laughing. They can always count on Ten to loosen up a group.

“Hey! I am doing my best.” Yuta’s pouty face brings a smile to Sicheng’s face.

“Don’t worry baby, it’s okay. I’m not rushing you. We have plenty of time.” Sicheng kisses his boyfriend, which makes the crowd around them all fake gag. “Oh, very funny. Half of you are in relationships.”

Thankfully, no one gets drunk, and everyone is able to drive home safely. Johnny didn’t want to deal with finding space for everyone. He may have a nice house, but it can’t fit 8 extra adults and 9 extra kids.

~

In the car on the way home, Jaehyun and Taeyong talk to the boys about the engagement.

“I know Jaehyun talked to you about us getting married. Do you have any questions about it?”

“When you get married, can we come to the party?”

“Of course you can Jenjen.”

“Is Jaehyun our dad now?” The question brings up something Taeyong has been thinking a lot about. When he and Jaehyun get married, Jaehyun has the option to adopt the boys so that he’s a legal guardian. If anything were to happen to him, Jaehyun would then be their caretaker. He’s been meaning to talk to Jae about it.

“That’s up to Jaehyun. We’ll talk about that later, okay?”

“Are we gunna get a bigger house like Mister Johnny?”

“What?”

“Mark told us they’re moving to a bigger house cause Mister Ten and YangYang are gunna move in. Jaehyun moved in so why don’t we get a bigger house?”

“Ten and Johnny are moving in together?? Oh, he is getting a very strongly worded call later,” Taeyong grumbles to himself. Turning around to face the boys, he calms his expression. “Well, we will think about a bigger house. I do agree ours is a little cramped for how big you boys are getting. Four of you in one room might be a bit much, huh?” Taeyong is left with a lot to think about. Maybe finding a new home will be a good thing for them. He and Jaehyun will be married, the kids are getting older. They need more space, and they need a space where Jaehyun can feel like it’s his home too, not just a place he moved into that was already filled with memories.

They get home, and tonight, Jaehyun offers to get the boys ready for bed. He said he can tell how tired Taeyong is, and suggested he take a soothing bath.

He almost falls asleep, but he’s drawn out of his exhaustion by Jaehyun coming into the bathroom.

“They’re all asleep. They were pretty tired.”

“I can relate. I don’t know why I’m so tired today.”

Jaehyun takes a seat next to the bath and grabs hold of Taeyong’s hand. He rubs circles on the back of his fiancé’s hand. “It’s been a long few days. Do you want to head to bed when you’re done?”

“No. I’ll be up super early if I sleep now. I still have to bitch out Johnny. I can’t believe he didn’t tell me.”

“They’ve probably been dating longer than we know. I mean, you saw them kissing a few weeks ago, and for some people, it takes a while to kiss for the first time. I think it’s funny that the kids talked about it.”

When they’re downstairs, dressed in comfy pajamas and sitting on the couch, Taeyong calls Johnny.

“So, John… I heard something interesting from my boys tonight.”

“Oh no.”

“You and Ten are moving in together and getting a bigger house?”

“Oh, that’s worse than I thought it would be. I thought you found out about the ice cream.”

“Ice cream- What? Johnny, what are you talking about.”

“Shit.”

Taeyong takes a deep breath. “Johnny.”

“Don’t use your dad voice! I’ll tell you. When I was watching them yesterday, Jaemin stole some ice cream. I was about to get the dairy-free stuff out, but he had somehow managed to eat like… half a bowl before I realized. He was up all night and he was in a lot of pain, and all the other boys kept asking why he was crying, and it really was just a rough night. I’m so sorry, I swear it was an accident!”

“My severely lactose intolerant child was sick all night and you didn’t call me? I have medicine he can take to help him feel better! Johnny, what the hell?!” Taeyong is fuming. Jaehyun has never seen him this upset. “But no, you tried to hide it from me! What were you thinking?”

“I’m sorry! He said he was feeling better this morning, so I figured he was fine.”

“You still should have told me! Johnny, I trust you with taking care of them and making sure they’re okay, but one of them got horribly sick and you kept it from me? I’m so fucking disappointed, John. Goodnight.” He hangs up without letting Johnny get in another word.

“Taeyong…”

“I can’t believe it.”

“Hey, just take some deep breaths. Jaemin is fine. Yeah, he spent a night being sick, but he’s okay now. And I know I’m not his dad and it’s not my place, but maybe it was a good thing. He might learn to not steal ice cream now if he knows it’ll make him sick.” Jaehyun rubs Taeyong’s back to try and make him feel better. “Let’s lay down, okay?”

“Thank you Jae.”

“I love you too, Taeyongie.” With a smile, Jaehyun turns his attention to the movie Taeyong picked out for tonight.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a cute little fluff chapter! Only two left after this!!! I hope you're all enjoying it <3

_~a year and a half later~_

The boys are in bed for the night. They were so tired after school today, so Taeyong had them go to bed earlier.

He and Jaehyun are in their room. 

“Jae?”

He’s just walking out of the bathroom when Taeyong calls his name. “Yeah?”

“So, the RSVPs for the wedding have started coming back. Why haven’t we gotten one from your parents?”

“Oh, uh, maybe it’s just taking longer since it’s from overseas.”

Taeyong looks him in the eye. “Some of your friends from overseas have already replied. Jaehyun, what’s going on? Come to think of it, I haven’t even met your parents… ”

Jaehyun flops onto the bed.

“My parents… don’t know about the engagement.”

“What?”

“Taeyong, can’t you even guess why? They never call, they never try to video chat. In our almost 2 year relationship, I’ve gone to see them once. In our 2 year relationship, I have never introduced you. Why do you think that is?”

“Jaehyun, I know it might be hard to talk about, but we’re engaged. We’re getting married in a few months. I think we’re past the point of keeping secrets.”

“I don’t think I can. It hurts too much.”

“Can I tell you something that hurts me to think about? Maybe it’ll make it easier if you aren’t the only one being vulnerable.” Taeyong doesn’t give Jaehyun a chance to interrupt him. “When the boy’s mom and I found out we were having 4 kids, I was so scared. I was only 22. I was a baby myself, but somehow, I was about to be a dad. There were so many nights I thought of leaving. Even after they were born. It was so hard, Jaehyun. I was juggling a job and a new marriage, and then we threw 4 newborns into it. I was just tired and I wanted to give up. Sometimes I couldn’t help thinking that they would be better off if I left, if I just got up in the middle night and never came back.”

“Taeyong…”

“I know. It’s horrible. They are my whole life and I love them more than anything, but it was so much. I wasn’t sleeping, I wasn’t eating, and their mom was starting to get tired of me. I helped with what I could, but I was so tired all the time. I started staying later and later at work, just so I could sleep in my office before going home. It got to the point where she told me to either get my shit together or get out. After someone else said it, said I should leave, I knew I couldn’t. Those boys deserve only the best, and I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life if I walked out. And then when we had the twins two years later, I was even more excited than she was. I love being a dad. I always wanted to be a dad. I couldn’t believe how stupid I had been, almost walking out on them. Then their mom got sick, and even though I was scared, I knew I had to be strong. I had to be the best dad ever and love them enough for 2 parents.” Taeyong’s tears choke him up after that.

Jaehyun pulls him in, his tears staining Taeyong’s shirt. “I’m sorry for never telling you. I never talk to my parents or even mention them, because when I was in high school, they kicked me out for being gay.”

“What? Jaehyun-”

“You don’t have to say anything. They’re very traditional, and when I came out, they didn’t want to hear it. They ignored it for years, but when I started dating a guy in highschool, they were quick to bring it up. They said if I wanted to ‘choose that lifestyle’, I had to do it elsewhere. When I said I wouldn’t ignore who I was just to make them happy, they told me to get out. I reached out to my mom’s sister who lived here in Seoul. She heard what happened and immediately took me in. She paid to fly me here. I moved in with her, finished high school here, and she even helped pay for my college. That’s why I moved here. It wasn’t just because of school.”

Jaehyun pauses to wipe his eyes.

“After our first weekend together, I was surprised to hear from my parents. My mom demanded that I come home, but wouldn’t tell me why. She even had a car service sent to my apartment to take me to the airport so I couldn’t ignore them. When I got there, it turns out my dad had had a heart attack. He was okay, but they pretty much used it as another excuse to try and talk me into meeting their friend’s daughter. They’ve tried setting us up multiple times. But I just lost it. I told them that I was dating you and I loved you and I wanted to marry you. Of course, that made them upset and we kept arguing. I finally told them that if they couldn’t accept me, I would cut them out of my life completely, and they would never come to my wedding or meet my kids. I came back earlier than I told you because I couldn’t stand to be around them. I went to my aunt’s house when I got back to Korea, and I pretty much spent a week crying on her couch. I know they never supported me, but they’re my parents. Part of me hoped they had changed their mind. But they haven’t changed. And they haven’t called since.” Taeyong wipes away the tears on Jaehyun’s cheeks.

“I am so sorry. They don’t deserve you Jae. You are amazing, and I’m sure you were much better off with your aunt. I can’t wait to meet her at the wedding.” He kisses Jae softly.

Jaehyun’s phone rings. “Oh. You might not have to wait that long. It’s her.”

He answers the video call.

“Ah, Jaehyunie! I’m so glad you answered. I didn’t know if you’d still be awake.”

“Yeah, I’m up. Sorry I haven’t called in a while. I’ve been a bit busy.”

“Oh, I bet you have. Congratulations, by the way! You’re getting married soon. Is he around? Can I meet your fiancé?” Jaehyun smiles at his aunt, and from across the bed, Taeyong smiles at him. At least Jaehyun had someone who supported him through the hard times with his parents.

“Yeah, he’s right here.” Jae turns to Taeyong. “Come here.”

Taeyong scoots across the bed and plops down next to Jae. He looks at the phone to see a bright smiling face with dimples resembling Jaehyun’s own.

“Hello! I’m Taeyong. It is so nice to finally meet you!”

“Oh you are just adorable, aren’t you! Wow, Jaehyunie, you really picked a cute one.”

“Auntie, please…” Jaehyun’s face goes red, and Taeyong loves seeing him all flustered.

“I have heard so much about you, Taeyong. I just know you and Jaehyunie are perfect for each other. You make him so happy.”

Taeyong grins ear to ear. He’s loving this. “He makes me happy, too. And my kids.”

“I get pictures all the time. I am so excited to meet all of you. It is late, so I will let you two get some sleep now, but thank you for answering my call, and I look forward to seeing you soon! Nice meeting you Taeyong! I love you Jaehyunie.”

“I love you too Auntie. Goodnight!”

Before hanging up, she blows a kiss to Jae through the phone, making his blush spread all the way down his neck. He’s so adorable when he’s embarrassed. 

“Awe, Jae, she’s so sweet.”

“She was my only extended family. My dad was an only child, and it was just her and my mom. She is a lot younger than my mom, so they never spent much time together. I only met her a few times in my childhood since he stayed in Korea and my parents moved us to the states. She always spent a lot of time with me when she came to visit. When my parents wanted me to leave, she’s the only person I could think of. She was so welcoming, and I felt more love from her in the few years I lived with her than I did from my parents my whole life.” Jaehyun rests his head on Taeyong’s shoulder. “I don’t know what I would have done without her.”

“How could she afford to support you so unexpectedly? You mentioned she helped pay for your college too?”

Jae smiles. “She never married. She had a good education and got a very good job. She provided for herself, but never spent lavishly, even though she had the money. So when I moved here, she paid for my flight, helped me replace my wardrobe since I couldn’t bring everything in one bag on the plane. She was very well off, and I was content with getting a part time job and paying for college myself, but she insisted on helping. She did encourage me to work to get good experience, and I wasn’t spoiled, but the two of us lived comfortably. She’s really the best.”

“I am so happy you had someone looking out for you. She’s so sweet, Jae, I can’t wait to meet her, and for the boys to meet her at the wedding.” Taeyong gets up to finish getting ready for bed.

He pulls Jaehyun close once they’re both back in bed.

“Thank you for being here, Taeyong. I love you. I can’t wait to marry you.”

“I love you too Jaehyunie. Get some sleep now. It’s been a long day.” Taeyong leans in and gives Jaehyun a little kiss on the nose.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only one more chapter left after this! These final two chapters were very indulgent. I wanted to get in as many cute family moments as I could. This chapter focuses on the Jaeyong wedding and honeymoon! Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoy the ending :)

Taeyong and Jaehyun’s wedding is in October. It’s relatively small, but their guest list was a decent size. Neither of them have huge groups of friends. Some of Jaehyun’s close college friends are here. The dad squad and their kids were a must. Taeyong’s parents as well as his sister and her husband are here. And Jaehyun’s aunt of course. After dinner, Taeyong’s parents volunteered to take all the kids up to their room so that the adults can have a real party and not worry about babysitting. 

The wedding is simple. Neither of them wanted extravagant decorations, so it’s a bit of a minimalistic theme. The flowers are white and peachy. They went for soft colors. 

They weren’t sure what they wanted for the ceremony. Neither of them have been to a gay wedding before, and not all the traditions of a straight wedding fit them. So, both of them are walked down the aisle by their family: Taeyong with his parents, and Jaehyun with his aunt. They didn’t want a huge wedding party either, so they each chose a best man to stand with them up at the altar. Taeyong chose Johnny as his best man, and Jaehyun picked Yuta as his.

The piano plays as Yuta and Johnny walk down first. Then Taeyong’s little hoard of children share the responsibility of spreading flower petals down the aisle. Taeyong and his parents walk down first. They each give him a hug and then heard the boys into their seats in the front row. Jaehyun walks down next, and seeing him makes Taeyong almost cry. Everyone cries at weddings, it’s not his fault. Once he’s down the aisle, Jaehyun’s aunt hugs him, and then Taeyong, before also taking her seat.

Taeyong and Jaehyun decided to write their own vows. They wanted it to be personal, and it definitely got very emotional.

“My Jaehyunie, I am so thankful that you came up to me in that Starbucks, and even though it would make for a great story, I’m glad I didn’t throw my drink in your face. I didn’t think I’d ever find a connection like the one I share with you, and I definitely wasn’t expecting to find it in a 5 foot 11, purple haired librarian slash psychology professor. I know we’ve had our disagreements, but I also know that we are strong enough to get through them. I don’t know the answers to every question in the universe, but I do know that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Jung Jaehyun. And I vow to do everything I can to make that happen. I will pick out horrible movies every weekend, and I will go to rose gardens with you. I will cook you dinners not meant to be microwaved, I will eat as many pancakes as you can make. I will even watch basketball with you if that’s what it takes to make sure you are always by my side. I can’t imagine my life without you in it. I love you Jaehyun.”

“Did you steal a glance at my vows, because I am also about to mention basketball.” Jaehyun laughs, and it makes Taeyong tear up even more. “Lee Taeyong, I guess we are meant to be. When I first looked at you, I could tell there was something special about you. You had this aura of complete confidence, but also you looked like you just needed a hug, and now that I know you, I know that both of those things are completely, 100 percent true. You are the most confident person I know. You are so sure of everything you do and say, and you know what, even if you don’t know every answer to the questions of the universe, you could spout off some random nonsense, and I would believe every word. And secondly, you do need a hug. You want a hug. I will walk into a room after only a couple minutes apart, and you crawl into my arms like a moth to a flame. And I wouldn’t wish it any other way. I will always be here to give you as many hugs as you need. I will buy you as much wine as you can drink, and I will learn to cook more than just pancakes and ramen. I will wait until you’re asleep to put on basketball because I know you don’t like it. Taeyong, I have never been great at planning for the future, but as long as I can be with you, and be with your family, I know I’ll be okay. I am not as poetic as you are, so I just hope that out of all my rambling, you take away the knowledge that I love you more than I have ever loved someone.”

After their vows, they have a cute little thing planned. As their extra special tradition, they planned something with the kids. Usually it involves each partner having a jar of colored sand, and the two take turns pouring their color so make a mix of the two. For theirs, they have 8 jars of sand. Taeyong, Jaehyun, and the 6 little ones all take turns pouring their sand into the bigger jar, representing Jaehyun joining their family. 

When all of that is complete, Taeyong and Jaehyun once again stand at the altar together, holding hands, and they exchange rings. They got simple little bands that match their engagement rings. Then, it’s time for the kiss, and thankfully, no children yell out ‘ew’.

At the reception, all the kids only stay until dinner is done. Once they’re up in their hotel room for the night, Taeyong finally lets his dad side take a break.

Taeyong drinks a little more than Jaehyun expected him to, but drunk Taeyong is quite entertaining.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him have this much fun.” Johnny and Jaehyun are taking a break of dancing. Taeyong is currently in a dance-off with Ten.

“I have seen it once. When we went to Japan two years ago, he had the best time. We just got to run around and do whatever we wanted to do. We got to see so many cool things on that trip. Even on the train trips and the flights, he was acting like it was the best time of his life.” Jaehyun smiles at the memories.

Johnny lets out a little huff. “Well, he didn’t get to do all that when he was younger. He got married at 20. He didn’t fuck around and travel and do dumb shit in his 20s. He started a family. And while he wouldn’t change anything, he still wants to let go and not care and just have fun once in a while.”

Jaehyun knows all this already. Taeyong told him himself. 

He joins his husband back on the dance floor. “So, how drunk are you?”

Taeyong giggles, “I’m moderately functional.”

“Okay, so you’re hammered. Come get some water.”

“No~ dance with me! I’m your husband, you have to!” Drunk Taeyong is definitely a good 10 years younger than sober Taeyong.

When a slow song comes on, Taeyong almost riots.

“Hey, take a deep breath. Let’s slow dance. You can even put your hand on my butt if that’ll make you feel better.” He can’t help but laugh when he feels Taeyong actually squeeze his ass.

They do slow dance. Taeyong rests his head on Jaehyun’s shoulder, and they gently sway together.

“You can relax. You don’t have to have all your fun tonight. Our honeymoon starts tomorrow. I know I didn’t tell you much, but everything’s taken care of. It’s a 2 week long trip. The first week, your parents are going to stay at the house with the boys. The second week, they’re dropping them off with Johnny and Ten. You and I have a full 14 days to be young and dumb and in-love.”

“Thank you.” It’s a soft whisper, but Jaehyun still hears it. He kisses the top of Taeyong’s head.

~

In the morning, Yuta and Sicheng drive Taeyong and Jaehyun to the airport.

“Do you two have any fun plans?”

Sicheng smiles back at them. “We are actually looking at houses, and maybe even some rings.”

“Rings?? Houses???” Jaehyun’s yelling makes Yuta flinch.

“Hey! I’m driving here, chill your tits.”

Sicheng ignores his grumpy boyfriend. “Yes. We were just kind of talking the other night and it was kind of a mutual proposal situation. We both said we wanted to get married and have a house and a family, so we figured why not start now? Why wait? So, we are going to pick out rings and start low-key looking at houses. The family part can come down the road a little ways. We aren’t even in our 30s yet.”

Taeyong laughs a little. “I’m having a blast in my 30s so far.”

“You cried on your 30th birthday.”

“We had just gotten engaged and that was the day I told my parents! It was an emotional day, don’t shame me.”

“You also cried on your 31st birthday.”

“Yes, because Johnny called me mean names and my children called me old.”

“I was perfectly nice to you.”

“You said you drew me a bath, and when I got in, it was ice cold and you yelled ‘LOL pranked you’, then you ran away laughing, tripped and fell, and ended up spraining your wrist.”

Sicheng’s eyes are wide.

“Maybe 32 will be better.” Taeyong lets out a little nervous laugh. 

They arrive at the airport and say their goodbyes to Yuta and Sicheng. The security lines are short, and their gate is still pretty empty so they snag some nice seats while they wait. They have a 13 hour flight ahead of them, so they aren’t too worried about their sleep schedule. They should have plenty of time to sleep on the plane.

~

Their two weeks in New Zealand are unforgettable. They hike around the national parks, they take boat tours to see wildlife, they kayak around some of the smaller islands, and they bask in the bright blue waters. 

It’s an amazing trip. The little house they’re staying in is gorgeous, and the best part is that they can sleep in and stay up as late as they want. There are no kids around to take care of or worry about.

It is just Taeyong and Jaehyun and the beautiful nature that surrounds them.

“We’re married.” Taeyong is getting out of the shower and Jaehyun comes up behind him, wrapping his arms around his new husband’s waist. 

“We are. Are you just now realizing this?”

“I’m just… basking. I didn’t think I’d ever get married again.”

“Taeyongie, you’re still young. You really didn’t think you would meet someone?”

He sighs. “I don’t want to bring the mood down.”

“Hey, look at me.” Jaehyun leads Taeyong to the bed and sits down next to him. “I want to know absolutely everything you have to say. I don’t care if you think it will bring down the mood. I will listen to you for the rest of our lives.” Taeyong closes his eyes as he feels lips against his forehead. 

“I was 25 when she died. I poured everything I had into loving her and loving our kids. I couldn’t imagine letting anyone else in. Losing her was so painful. I didn’t want to feel that again. I knew I would be okay because I had my boys. I was okay with them by my side.”

“But were you happy?”

The question catches him off guard, but he answers anyway. “I was happy enough. It’s not like every day was perfect, but it was enough.”

Jaehyun starts playing with Taeyong’s fingers. It’s calming for both of them. “What did you think when we first met? Did you think you’d fall in love with me?”

“Honestly,” Taeyong smiles. “I didn’t. But that’s why I think I did fall for you. It was unexpected. I wasn’t looking for anyone to be with, but you showed up anyway. And you stayed. Something the dad squad doesn’t know is that I did have one date between my wife passing away and meeting you.”

“Really? What was this person like?”

“She was a bit older than I was. No kids, widowed a few years earlier. She was nice, but she made me realize how much I missed dating guys.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. Plenty of the single moms at the school were pretty and nice, and they shamelessly flirted with me, but after that date, I realized that’s not what I wanted. On that date, she seemed so caught up with acting like she’d be the perfect mom for my kids, and it made me upset. I wasn’t dating to find a new mom to replace the one my boys lost. I wanted a companion for myself. Yes, it’s a plus to have a second parent, but I didn’t want a co-parent, I wanted someone to love me. I never told the guys because I just got too caught up with the boys to start dating. But I did join a dating app…”

“You did not!”

“I did!” Taeyong laughs. “I never went out with anyone, but it was nice to feel wanted by someone. I just acted like a normal 26 year old or however old I was. I only talked to guys, and they were just so much nicer. I even remember talking about my kids to some of them. They didn’t want relationships, they just wanted to talk, exchange some pictures, and it was casual. It was nice.”

“You sent naughty pictures to strangers on the internet? Taeyong…”

“I was 26!”

“I’m 26 right now, but I wouldn’t send dick pics.”

“What if I wanted one?”

“That’s different, we are married.” Jaehyun can’t help but laugh. “I’m saying if I were dating, I wouldn’t send them to people on a dating app.”

Taeyong shrugs, “Well, the guys were nice and they were pretty and I was just trying to have some fun. I had four 4-year-olds and two 2-year-olds. I needed a way to release pent up stress.” With a playful kiss, their conversation ends.

With that, Taeyong finally gets up to put clothes on. Jaehyun hadn’t let him get dressed before dragging him into a sad-turned-funny conversation.

They go to a fancy restaurant for dinner and get some free dessert when they mention they’re on their honeymoon. It’s happened a couple times in the past two weeks.

~

“Are you ready to go home?”

“I will miss this place, but it is time to return home. I miss my boys. I have a lot to update my blog readers on. I am ready to tell the boys about the house. They’re going to be so excited. I’m so excited. We finally have a house that fits our family.” 

“I love you Taeyong.”

He smiles back at his husband. “I love you too Jaehyunie.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is! The final chapter!! Technically chapter 14 was the end, but there were so many smaller ideas I had about Jaehyun becoming more and more part of the family and him growing closer to the boys. I couldn't hold back, so this is a mostly fluff chapter of just all the little moments.

It’s an interesting afternoon. Jaehyun has just returned from picking the boys up from school. Taeyong is technically still at work. Jaehyun didn’t have any classes to teach today, and the boy’s school day was a half day.

Today really is a strange day. With the boys getting older, they’ve all joined various extracurriculars, so most days, Jaehyun picks them up on his way home from work since their activities end around the same time. 

Taeyong has a few blog things to catch up on, so he’s been locked in his office all day. Jaehyun is excited that the boys are finally home so he isn’t bored all alone.

“What do you want to do? Your dad won’t be done for a while, so you’re stuck with me.”

“Daddy usually makes us do homework right away.” Renjun is quick to point this fact out.

“Yes, but it’s a Friday, and you have all weekend to do your homework. Plus, he’s not here right now, so I’m in charge, and I say we do something fun!” Jaehyun knows Taeyong would disapprove, but that’s part of the fun. Taeyong can never stay mad at him. 

“Since we didn’t eat lunch at school, can we go somewhere?”

“Hmmm, I guess we can do that. Where should we go?”

And that’s how Jaehyun ends up parading around four 9-year-olds and two 7-year-olds. They don’t require the same level of supervision as when Jaehyun first came into their lives, so he doesn’t stress about going off alone with them anymore. He knows that Taeyong likes some peace and quiet every once in a while. 

After lunch, and a small walk around the park, Jaehyun brings them back home and they all disperse to do their homework before Taeyong can nag them about it.

“You took them to lunch?” Jaehyun doesn’t expect Taeyong to be waiting in the living room for him.

“Yes I did. I just knew how much work you had to do, and I didn’t want them to be running around yelling and bothering you. You need peace to get work done.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s the whole reason.” Taeyong raises his eyebrows, knowing that his husband just likes to spoil the boys. “Were they at least good?”

“Of course they were! You forget how much they love me.” 

Taeyong rolls his eyes. “Are they doing their homework?”

Before Jaehyun can answer, they hear a set of footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Hey dad!”

Taeyong starts to turn to his son, but he’s a bit taken aback when he notices that Jeno is looking right at Jaehyun.

It surprises Jaehyun, too. The boys have never called him dad before.

“Yeah, buddy?”

“Can you come practice basketball with me? All my homework is done!”

Jaehyun smiles, “Of course. Go get the ball and I’ll meet you in the backyard.”

After Jeno is out of earshot, Jaehyun almost starts screaming. “He! He called me dad! Am I their dad? Am I a dad? Taeyong, oh my fucking god, I can’t believe this.”

“Jaehyun, of course you’re a dad. I know we haven’t really talked about it, but I’ve been meaning to ask you if you want to legally adopt them. Then you would be an official legal guardian. We can talk to them about it too, but I’m sure they would love that. In your words, they really do love you.”

“He called me dad…” Before the tears can fall, Taeyong playfully pushes him towards the back door.

“Go play basketball you big cheeseball.” Taeyong watches his husband from the window. He couldn’t be happier that one of them finally called Jaehyun dad. 

He doesn’t mention it to Jaehyun, but the boys actually asked him if Jaehyun is their dad now and if they can call him dad. He told them he’s sure Jaehyun would love it if they did, and turns out he was right. 

Over the next couple days, each of the boys has their moment of calling Jaeyun dad for the first time, and after that, it just comes naturally to them. He almost starts crying one night when they ask for dad and daddy to kiss them goodnight. It’s always been an unspoken thing that Taeyong supervises bedtime and kisses them goodnight, so now that Jaehyun has been asked to join, he really does feel like he’s their dad. He loves them like they’re his own kids.

~

Taeyong is at the boy’s school. He dropped them off, but one of the teachers wanted to talk with him about potentially putting Renjun in higher level classes. He said he’d let Renjun make the decision, so he leaves after that.

When he gets home, Jaehyun’s car is still there, so he’s confused when his husband is nowhere to be found. His wallet and phone are gone, but he didn’t mention anything to Taeyong before he left this morning.

Taeyong calls his husband. “Jaehyun?! Where are you? Why is the kitchen a mess?”

“I’m at the hospital.

“What?? Why are you at the hospital? Why is your car here? Did you have to call an ambulance?”

“Yuta drove me. I was making breakfast ramen, but when I was cutting up some vegetables, the knife slipped and I got cut really bad. It wouldn’t stop bleeding, and I couldn’t drive since the blood was making me dizzy, so I called Yuta. We are still waiting for a doctor.”

“You idiot. I’ll be right there.”

Taeyong can’t help but speed a little on his way. 

When he gets there, Jaehyun and Yuta are sitting in the waiting room still. A doctor is talking to them.

“Taeyong! Do you have our insurance card? Mine isn’t in my wallet and they said they need it.”

“Yes, here.” Taeyong digs it out of his wallet and hands it over. He doesn’t spare a glance at the doctor or at Yuta. “Are you okay? Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t feel good.”

“You’re such an idiot.”

“I love you, too. Come here. I’m okay.” Jaehyun uses his not-bleeding hand to hug Taeyong. He knows how much Taeyong hates hospitals. “You’re shaking more than I am. Take some deep breaths baby, I’m really okay. The doctor looked at it a little and she said it might not even need stitches.”

“Are you two good? Can I go? Sicheng was really worried when I sprinted out of there without a word.”

Taeyong shakes his head. “You’re an idiot too. Yes, go home. And don’t disappear without telling him where you’re going next time.” He sends a small glare to Jaehyun, but only gets a laugh in response.

When the doctor finally takes Jaehyun back, they allow Taeyong to come too. 

The doctor cleans the cut and bandages it up. It didn’t need stitches, thankfully, and it should only take 2 or 3 weeks to fully heal. Jaehyun will be just fine.

“Did you eat? Want me to make you something when we’re home?”

“Yes, but I would first like to apologize for the absolute mess that I left in the kitchen. I at least tried to wipe up the blood.” Jaehyun lets out a nervous laugh.

Taeyong reaches over the car’s center console to hold his husband’s hand. “I don’t mind. I’ve cleaned up worse messes. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

~

It’s movie night. The boys are in bed. Jaehyun picked out the snacks while Taeyong set up the movie.

They’re part way through the horrible rom com when Jaehyun pauses it.

“I’ve meant to ask, but where did this little scar come from?” Jaehyun lightly touches next to Taeyong’s eye. “How did you get it?”

“Hyuck.”

“Hyuck?” Jaehyun is taken aback. How could sweet little Donghyuck hurt Taeyong that badly for it to scar.

“Uh huh. He was 2. It was before the twins were born, but their mom was heavily pregnant. I was playing with the four boys outside one afternoon, and he had this little toy car. We had previously been playing catch with this one squishy ball, but he was 2, so he thought playing catch with a toy car would also be okay. Before I could tell him no, he threw it at me, and it hit me right in the face. There was lots of blood and I couldn’t tell if he hit my eye or not. Their mom couldn’t drive since she was so pregnant, so she stayed home with the boys and I took a cab to the hospital. It ended up being a pretty big gash, but the doctors said I was lucky it didn’t hit my eye. I had to wear an eyepatch while it healed since that was the easiest way to bandage it. The boys were all terrified when I got home. I think they just remembered how much I was bleeding. They all cried so hard when they saw me, and Hyuck never wanted to play catch ever again. It was a very traumatic day.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. I told him the story a few years ago and he almost cried again because he didn’t like that he had hurt me. It’s a sensitive topic.”

Jaehyun takes a deep breath. “I will avoid bringing it up then. I still can’t believe that. How did it miss your eye?”

“I must have flinched and turned a little when I saw it coming at my face.”

“Wow.” It takes Jaehyun a few minutes to process the whole thing. It is a crazy story.

The two resume their movie, but not before Jaehyun leans over and places a little kiss over the scar.

~

After dinner one night, Jaehyun can tell something is off with Taeyong. They’ve been together for years, so he’s developed a 6th Taeyong sense. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,” Taeyong dismisses.

“Hey, just tell me. You know I’ll get it out of you one way or another.”

Taeyong sighs. “I’ve got a bad headache. It hasn’t gone away all day.”

“Go up and take a nice hot shower. Then try to get some sleep. I can handle dinner and make sure the boys all get to bed on time.” Jaehyun gives his husband a soft kiss on his forehead. “I’ll come up and check on you in a little bit. Do you want some soup?”

“That sounds nice. Thank you.”

“You take care of me all the time. It’s my turn. Now, go get some rest.”

Jaehyun finds an easy recipe online and makes dinner. He’s gotten a lot better at cooking than when he and Taeyong first started living together. He didn’t like Taeyong having to cook every night. He’s a dad, too, so he can suck it up and learn to cook.

“Why is daddy eating upstairs?” The boys are all sitting around the dining table when Jaehyun comes back from delivering Taeyong his soup.

“He’s not feeling well tonight. He’ll be okay. He probably just needs some rest.”

They all accept that explanation, so Jaehyun just continues on with his night, grabbing his own bowl of soup and joining them at the table.

When he goes up to bed later that night, he sees that Taeyong is still wide awake.

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t sleep. I’m exhausted, Jae, but I can’t keep my eyes closed.”

Jaehyun changes into his pajamas and brushes his teeth. When he joins Taeyong in bed, he motions for Taeyong to turn over.

“Let me rub your back. Maybe you just need help relaxing.”

“I love you Jae.”

“I love you too Yongie. Now, close your eyes.”

After a couple minutes, he sees that his husband is sound asleep. Jaehyun is glad he could help.

In the morning, Jaehyun is woken up to the sound of a door slamming into a wall.

As he opens his eyes and looks around, he catches sight of his husband hunched over the toilet. Taeyong must be really sick.

“You okay in there?”

Taeyong slumps forward. “I feel awful.”

“I’ll get the boys ready for school, and I’ll stop by the pharmacy for some medicine after taking them to school.”

“I can do it. I’ll be o-” He’s interrupted by another wave of sickness.

“Taeyongie,” Jaehyun coos. “You’re sick. Stay home and rest. I can handle the boys. I’ve taken them to school before. Is there anything specific you want to eat, or are you too sick to think about that right now?”

“Is there any soup leftover from last night?”

Jaehyun nods. “I’ll heat some up for you when you’re done throwing up. Can you get back in bed on your own, or should I just go start waking the boys up?”

With a wave of Taeyong’s hand, Jaehyun dismisses himself to go down the hall and wake up each of the boys. It is a large task. Just like when they were younger, Donghyuck and Chenle are the hardest to wake up.

When they’re all downstairs eating, the questions come.

“Why is daddy not awake?”

“Is daddy still not feeling well?”

“Are you taking us to school?”

“Can we skip school to help daddy feel better?”

Jaehyun laughs at that one. “No one is skipping school. He’ll be okay, he’s just kind of sick right now. I’ll take you to school and pick you up after.”

As they sit around finishing breakfast, Jaehyun gets started on making their lunch. It’s not as pretty as the food Taeyong makes them, but Jaehyun does his best. He hasn’t received formal training in the art of lunch boxes.

“Everyone go get dressed. We need to leave soon.”

Jaehyun heads back to his and Taeyong’s room to get dressed himself, and he finds his husband asleep again. At least he’s not throwing up anymore.

As he’s waiting in the car for the boys to all pile in, Jaehyun sends an email to all of his students about cancelling classes for the day. His students all love him, so he knows they won’t mind.

“Ready to go?” He looks over his shoulder to check that they are all buckled in safely. “Does everyone have their bag, their lunch, their homework?” With 6 nods, Jaehyun drives off to school.

In the parking lot, the dad squad is all gathered outside.

“Jaehyun! This is a surprise. Shouldn’t you be heading to work?”

He sends the boys inside with a hug, and then makes his way over to the circle. “Taeyong is really sick. I am on full dad duty until he’s feeling better. He still tried to insist on coming.”

“Well duh. He hates being sick because he prefers doing things himself,” Johnny points out.

“I’m well aware. He’ll be fine in a few days. We might have to raincheck the cookout this weekend if he’s still sick.”

“That’s fine. And hey, call if you need anything. Taeyong should actually get some rest. Don’t let him do anything.”

After a quick goodbye, Jaehyun makes a stop at the pharmacy before heading back home.

“Taeyongie? How are you feeling?” Taeyong is still in bed when Jaehyun walks in with the medicine.

“Horrible.”

“Maybe this will help. Did you eat while I was gone?” Taeyong shakes his head while accepting the cup of cold medicine Jaehyun poured. “I will go heat up some soup. Johnny, Ten, and Kun all say hi and that you being sick is a good thing because it will force you to rest.”

“Fuck them.”

“They also said they’ll take the boys out for dinner tonight so you can have some quiet time.”

“I love them.” The quick turnaround of emotions makes Jaehyun laugh a bit. Taeyong is like a different person when he’s sick. It’s only happened a few times in the years Jaehyun’s known him, but it is a memorable experience.

Jaehyun busies himself while Taeyong eats. He knows Tae doesn’t like it when he hovers, so he tried to clean up around the house a bit. He takes over the dining room table with the papers he has to grade, and he answers some student’s emails.

He doesn’t expect it when Taeyong hobbles down the stairs.

“What’s up?”

“I’m lonely.”

“I don’t think I’ll be good company. I’m just doing school stuff.”

Taeyong shrugs and takes a seat next to his husband. “I don’t care. I just want to sit with you.” He rests his head on his arms on the table, and it looks like he falls asleep after a few minutes.

Jaehyun just sits there and looks at him for a while. How did he get so lucky to end up with Taeyong?

When it’s time to pick the boys up, Jaehyun makes sure Taeyong is back in their bedroom. He doesn’t want them to bother Taeyong or make his headache worse.

“How were your various sports and music lessons?”

Jeno lights up at the question. “My basketball coach said I did really good today! It’s all because you’ve been practicing with me.”

“Any time Jeno.”

“I started learning a new song on piano.”

“Maybe you can play for me after dinner.”

At the mention of food, the car becomes much louder.

“Hey, calm down boys. Johnny, Ten, and Kun are picking you up to take to dinner in a little bit. Your dad and I are going to stay home. He’s still sick.” They’re a bit sad that their dads aren’t joining them, but going out with their friends is always something that makes them happy. 

The week passes very slowly for Jaehyun. Taeyong doesn’t get much better, so he’s been alone in taking care of the boys. Between all of their different sports practices and music lessons, and making 3 meals a day, Jaehyun starts to feel an exhaustion he’s never felt before. It’s really hard to do this all alone. Taeyong has tried helping here and there, but Jaehyun tries to have him rest as much as possible.

Renjun and Donghyuck get into a fight later in the week, and Jaehyun tries not to get too angry at them, but he’s at the end of his patience. They argue the whole car ride and don’t stop even when they get home.

“Enough! Go to your rooms until dinner, both of you. I don’t care who started it or who said what. Get your homework done. No tv when you finish. If you’re ready to apologize to each other after dinner, fine, but if not, you’re going to bed early.”

The other four boys stand there silently the whole time.

“I’m sorry for yelling.”

“It’s okay. We tried telling them to stop fighting, too.” Jaemin looks where his two brothers disappeared up the stairs. “Do they hate each other?”

Jaehyun kneels down. “No, they don’t hate each other. They’re brothers. Sometimes people who love each other fight. It doesn’t mean they love each other any less. When you feel a lot of emotions, it can be hard to let them out, but yelling is one of those ways. It’s not nice, but it happens.” He pauses, remembering the small fight he and Taeyong had last night. Taeyong kept insisting he felt better when it was clear he was still quite sick. He wouldn’t listen when Jaehyun said he’s just trying to help him get better, and they had quite the argument. “As long as you apologize, everything will be okay. Now, can you boys go do your homework? It’s nice out, so when you’re done, I’ll come play with you outside until dinner.”

“Okay! I love you dad.” Jaemin hugs Jaehyun, and then scurries off to do his homework at the dining table.

Jaehyun goes up to his and Taeyong’s room. He collapses on the bed next to his husband.

“I’m sorry for arguing with you last night.”

“It’s okay. Why are you upset still?” Taeyong sits up and reaches for Jaehyun’s hand.

“I-” Before he can really speak, Jaehyun starts to cry.

“Jae?”

“I- I’m trying. I really am. I’m trying to do everything I can to be a good dad and take care of them so that you can rest and get better, but it’s so hard. Taeyongie, how did you do this alone for so long? It’s been a week and I’m barely getting by. Renjun and Hyuck started fighting and I yelled at them and I felt so bad. I’m just trying so hard, but I feel like I’m doing a horrible job.” Jaehyun curls up on himself.

Taeyong starts to tangle his hands in Jae’s hair. It’s always been able to calm him down.

“You don’t have to be perfect. Jaehyun, the fact that you’re feeling all this proves that you are a good dad. You’re worried about them. That’s normal. It’s not easy. I felt like a horrible dad a lot of times. But, I’m here. Just because I’m sick, that doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help. You aren’t doing this alone. I wasn’t fully alone taking care of them. I had Johnny and Ten and Kun to help me. We are all in this together. And don’t worry about Renjun and Hyuck fighting. That’s just how they are. Yelling at them was probably needed. Give yourself a break. You’re doing fine. No one is hurt and the house hasn’t burned down, so you’re doing great Jae. I love you so much, and the boys do too.”

Taeyong is the best. Jaehyun looks up to his husband. “If you hadn’t been vomiting for a week straight, I would kiss you. Thank you. I just don’t want to mess anything up.”

“You aren’t messing up. And even if you were, I would still love you.”

Jaehyun smiles. His husband wipes a stray tear from his face.

“I’m so lucky to have found you.”

Taeyong’s smile grows. “You got an old man and 6 crazy kids. I got a hot, smart, younger guy who’s a professor and who lets me do whatever I want with him. I think I’m the lucky one here.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked the story! Please feel free to comment and leave a kudos. It makes me really happy hearing what you like about the story. <3
> 
> Also just as a side note, I also almost wrote a little snippet about how after Sicheng and Yuta get their house and are married, they adopt Shotaro XD


End file.
